RT India, Russian State-Affiliated Outlet, Deletes Post in Apparent Admission of Fake Propaganda Against Pakistan's PM Sharif – Echoing Broader Indian Media Bias Concerns

In a striking admission that has ignited a firestorm across South Asia, Russia's state-affiliated media arm, RT India (@RT_India_news), has publicly deleted a viral post falsely depicting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as snubbed or awkwardly waiting to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the International Forum on Peace and Trust in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The December 12 event convened global leaders, including Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Sharif, for dialogues on regional stability and security.

The Pivotal Deletion Notice – Front and Center: RT India's official follow-up post, timestamped December 12, 2025, at 19:34 GMT, reads verbatim:

"We deleted an earlier post about Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif waiting to meet Vladimir Putin at the Peace and Trust Forum in Turkmenistan. The post may have been a misrepresentation of the events."

This terse statement, which has amassed over 830,000 views, 2,100 likes, and 523 replies in under 24 hours, marks a rare concession from the outlet—often criticized for amplifying pro-India narratives in regional coverage, despite its Russian state backing. The original clip, a decontextualized video snippet showing Sharif entering a room mid-discussion between Putin and Erdogan, exploded online, fueling ridicule from Indian social media users and even Pakistani opposition figures who dubbed it a "diplomatic embarrassment." Fact-checks from Pakistani and Russian officials, however, revealed it as a mere scheduling hiccup, with "warm exchanges" and subsequent bilateral handshakes confirming productive ties.

The backlash has been swift and multifaceted. Pakistani digital advocate Hassan Malik slammed the notice as "irresponsible and unjustified," demanding accountability from RT's parent entity (@RT_com) and tagging Russian diplomatic handles like @KremlinRussia_E and @mfa_russia: "After allowing propaganda videos... to go viral, reaching tens of millions... the RT India account now unapologetically states that it was a 'misrepresentation of events.'" Indian users, meanwhile, reveled in the initial post's reach—one reply quipped, "Damage was done ✊✊ Enjoyed it😂😂"—before pivoting to mock the deletion as overly cautious. Pakistani voices, like @TheSaadKaiser, hailed it as a "moment of silence for India," accusing figures such as @SHABAZGIL of peddling the falsehood to "destabilize Pakistan."

Critics argue this episode exemplifies how state-affiliated outlets like RT India—perceived by some as a conduit for Indian state-aligned propaganda amid Moscow-New Delhi ties—exploit fleeting visuals to inflame India-Pakistan rivalries. "This isn't journalism; it's a calculated smear on Pakistan's rising global footprint," tweeted @FarhanKVirk, urging mass-tagging of Pakistani officials. The forum's focus on de-escalation now contrasts sharply with the digital discord it unwittingly sparked.

Compounding the scrutiny, this comes amid damning indictments of Indian media's own credibility crisis. The 2023 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index ranks India 161st out of 180 nations, a plunge from 150 the prior year, lambasting "very serious" assaults on press freedom through censorship, violence, and oligarchic control. A 2022 Burdwan University study of nine major outlets found overt biases in India-Pakistan coverage, with 70% of 3,000 respondents deeming it "untrustworthy." Harvard's Shorenstein Center has documented Twitter bots amplifying sensationalist narratives during escalations, eroding trust in an ecosystem where corporate-political nexuses stifle nuance.

As #FakeNewsIndia and #SharifPutin trend, with preserved clips circulating defiantly ("Don't worry, We preserved it for you," posted @RohitRajwade6 alongside the video), the incident underscores the perils of unchecked amplification in polarized media landscapes. RT India has offered no further elaboration, but the deletion—while understated—looms large as a flashpoint for demands of transparency in state-influenced reporting. Pakistan's diplomatic gains at the forum endure, a testament to resilience against narrative sabotage.