In an embarrassing climbdown after a widely criticized misinformation post about the Indian Air Force, The Hindu has issued what many are calling a tepid, self-serving apology — and promptly disabled comments to shield itself from public backlash.
In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, India’s targeted military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, The Hindu ran a now-deleted post that falsely claimed “at least three Indian jets had crashed” in Jammu and Kashmir, citing unnamed government sources. The report, authored by senior journalist Vijaita Singh, was quickly picked up by disinformation networks, including pro-Pakistan handles, before being debunked by defense experts and the Indian military as a misreading of standard fuel tank jettisoning during high-speed air operations.
Rather than owning up to the damage, The Hindu quietly pulled the post and published a carefully worded message that read, “We have deleted an earlier post about Indian aircraft involved in Operation Sindoor. There is no such on-record official information from India. We therefore decided to remove the post from our platforms. We regret that it created confusion among our readers.”
This isn’t an apology. This is a mere PR cover up.
Also – we thought you stood for freedom of speech, Mr. @nramind ?
What would you call a newspaper that publishes fake news against our armed forces, but can’t handle real replies from the people?
We’ll tell you: A propaganda… https://t.co/ANYnX3XZIw pic.twitter.com/UqvEiUMJIX
— BJP Tamilnadu (@BJP4TamilNadu) May 7, 2025
Critics were quick to point out that this statement stops well short of a proper retraction or apology. It fails to acknowledge the gravity of publishing unverified information during an ongoing national security operation. More troubling, The Hindu then disabled comments on the post — an unusual move for a paper that touts itself as a champion of press freedom and open discourse.
What irked many was not just the false report, but the attempt to shield the outlet from accountability. By disabling comments, The Hindu essentially denied readers the right to question, respond, or hold the publication to account — ironically, on the very platforms where it once positioned itself as a bastion of free speech.
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