The Indian government has directed the social media platform X to withhold the account of Maktoob Media within India, citing a legal demand. Maktoob Media, an independent digital news outlet known for its coverage of human rights and minority issues, reported the action as an assault on press freedom.

“We have learned that @MaktoobMedia’s X account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand. We have no knowledge of the reason for the government’s arbitrary action. It is an assault on press freedom. Maktoob pledges to continue its crucial work at a time when truth is becoming a casualty. At this hour of crisis, we ask our allies to share links from our website to help people access our reporting. We are many, many more than them,” said Maktoob in a statement,

Founded in 2014 by four undergraduate students from Kerala—Aslah Kayyalakkath, Naseel Voici, Arya AT, and Muhammed Sadique K—Maktoob Media began as an SMS news service and evolved into a full-fledged website by 2016. The platform focuses on amplifying voices from India’s marginalized communities, including Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, women, and other minorities.

In 2023, Maktoob Media received the Best Media Organisation award at the Human Rights Religious Freedom Journalism Awards, recognizing its in-depth reporting on the systematic targeting of religious minorities and issues such as the Hijab ban.

The withholding of Maktoob Media’s X account follows a pattern of similar actions against other accounts critical of the Indian government. In January 2024, the account of Hindutva Watch, a research initiative monitoring hate crimes, was also withheld in India following a legal demand from the Union government.

The action against Maktoob Media’s X account has raised concerns among press freedom advocates, who view it as part of a broader trend of suppressing independent journalism in India.