Crap note: Navarro lashes out at Musk as X flags his India-Russia oil rant

New Delhi: White House adviser Peter Navarro had a meltdown on Sunday after one of his posts attacking India's purchase of Russian oil was flagged by a community note on X. Dismissing it as a "crap note", Navarro accused X owner Elon Musk of "letting propaganda into people's posts".

In his tirade, Navarro alleged that India was buying Russian oil "solely to profiteer", claiming New Delhi had not imported any before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "Indian govt spin machine moving high tilt. Stop killing Ukrainians. Stop taking American jobs," he wrote. Navarro has earlier described Russia's invasion as "Modi's war".

A previous post by him accusing India of "feeding the Russian war machine" had also been fact-checked by X's community notes. Contributors clarified that India's energy trade with Russia was for "energy security, not just profit", and noted that the purchases did not violate any sanctions.

The latest post too was flagged as "hypocritical", with the note pointing out that India's legal, sovereign oil imports from Russia comply with international law. It also highlighted that while criticising India, the US continues to import billions of dollars' worth of Russian goods, including uranium, exposing a "clear double standard".

Community notes on X are written by contributors to add context to potentially misleading posts. If enough contributors from diverse viewpoints find a note helpful, it becomes visible to all users.

Navarro, however, has kept up his attacks on New Delhi in recent days, branding India the "Maharaja of tariffs", a "laundromat for the Kremlin", and accusing "Brahmins" of profiteering at the expense of ordinary Indians.

India has rejected his remarks outright. "We have seen some inaccurate statements made by him. We reject them," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday.