'Foreign interests hijack our platforms...': Navarro accuses India of rigging X poll, slams ‘propagandists’

Peter Navarro, former trade advisor to Donald Trump, launched a scathing attack on India and X’s fact-checking system over the weekend, accusing "Indian propagandists" of manipulating a poll he conducted on the platform and slamming Elon Musk’s Community Notes as “propaganda.” 

In a now-viral post on X (formerly Twitter), Navarro wrote, “India has largest population in the world & all it can do is manage few hundred thousand X propagandists to jerk around a poll? Too funny. America: look at how foreign interests use our social media to advance their agenda.” 

Navarro had run a poll asking whether X should “present this crap as comments where foreign interests masquerade as objective observers and interfere with domestic US economics and politics.” The post triggered a wave of reactions online, including a clarification from X’s Community Notes team. 

The clash began after Navarro posted a claim criticising India’s Russian oil imports: “FACTS: India highest tariffs cost US jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit / Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. US taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins.” 

The post was flagged by Community Notes, prompting Navarro to respond angrily: “Wow. @elonmusk is letting propaganda into people’s posts. That crap note below is just that. Crap. India buys Russian oil solely to profiteer… Indian govt spin machine moving high tilt.” 

Navarro doubled down with further attacks, calling India a “laundromat for the Kremlin” and referring to its energy purchases as “blood money.” 

“More bullshit from X… Stick that up your keister Mother Jones and shame on you.” 

Elon Musk, CEO of X, responded indirectly to Navarro’s allegations. In a post defending the platform’s transparency and neutrality, Musk wrote: 

“On this platform, the people decide the narrative. You hear all sides of an argument. Community Notes corrects everyone, no exceptions. Notes data & code is public source. Grok provides further fact‑checking.” 

Musk emphasized that Community Notes applies equally to all users and is driven by public consensus and open data. 

Navarro’s criticisms, while not new, have reignited debate over social media influence and fact-checking in the context of global politics. His comments reflect broader frustrations among U.S. trade hardliners about India’s tariffs and foreign policy decisions — particularly its continued purchase of discounted Russian crude.