Russia’s state-backed international news network RT has entered the Hindi digital news space, expanding its India-focused media strategy just as global attention turns to the upcoming BRICS Summit and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s India visit.And in true Internet fashion, the launch has coincided with a bizarre viral video that has left social media doing a double take: a digitally manipulated clip that appears to show King Charles III speaking Hindi while wearing a turban.No, the British monarch has not suddenly undergone a Punjabi makeover.The video is digitally manipulated, but that has done little to stop it from becoming a highly shareable Internet joke — particularly because of the timing of RT’s Hindi-language launch.RT launches digital news platform in Hindi, just 9 months after RT India began broadcasting in EnglishEven King Charles can’t resist and… speaks Hindi now pic.twitter.com/Hiwmrz8zM1— RT (@RT_com) September 11, 2026Social media users have also linked the viral clip to the broader political messaging around RT’s India push. The Russian news platform’s use of a turbaned Sikh-looking figure has become part of the online banter aimed at Washington, particularly amid debates and controversies in the US involving Sikh immigrants.In that reading, the digitally altered King Charles clip becomes more than just an absurd Internet meme: it plays into a wider joke about Russia adopting a distinctly “desi” visual language to court Indian audiences — while simultaneously poking fun at the US and its own highly visible association with Sikh immigrant issues.RT has launched a dedicated Hindi digital news operation, marking its entry into India’s largest language market. The move also positions the platform as the first foreign global news channel to launch a Hindi-language digital news operation, giving RT a new way to reach Indian audiences beyond its existing English-language presence.Its tagline, “Fark Nazariye Ka” (The world looks different from here), neatly captures the editorial pitch. RT is positioning itself as an alternative international news source that aims to present global developments from a perspective it says differs from the conventional Western media narrative.