Norwegian reporter Helle Lyng’s Instagram and Facebook account ‘suspended’ after PM Modi’s viral video | Today’s news
Norwegian “journalist” Helle Lyng, who has been in the limelight since she harshly called Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint media appearance with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stør in Oslo. She went viral when she asked PM Modi to ask the “freest press in the world” while leaving a joint event.
A string of reactions followed that set off a political firestorm, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) refuting questions about “confidence” and a series of online statements. After her bold question, she revealed that her Instagram and Facebook accounts have been suspended.
In a post on X, Helle Lyng announced that two of her social media portals had been suspended. “If you are trying to contact me on Instagram or Facebook, I would like to inform you that I have been suspended from both accounts. I wanted to reply to as many Indians as possible, but my replies will now be delayed. I hope to get my accounts back,” said Helle Lyng’s post on X.
Sharing a screenshot of her Instagram account in another post on X, she said: “I’ve been trying to log into my Instagram account all day. Now I’ve been suspended. It’s a small price to pay for freedom of the press, but I’ve never experienced this before.”
While trying to access her Instagram account, the portal said in Norwegian:
“We have suspended your account Hellelyng. You have 180 days to appeal the decision or your account will be permanently disabled. Suspended May 19, 2026
What does this mean? Your account is currently not visible to others on Instagram and you cannot use it.
What you can do – You have 180 days to appeal our decision.
We may need to ask you for some information to help us recheck your account.
You can access a copy of what you’ve shared on Instagram. Download a copy.”
The whole press freedom debacle started on Monday at a joint press event between Prime Minister Modi and his Norwegian counterpart. Helle Lyng’s, who identifies herself as a journalist for the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen, shared a clip from the event in which she can be heard asking the prime minister why she is not taking questions from “the world’s freest press”.
The caption of the video read, “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t accept my question, I didn’t expect him to do that,” she said in the post and shared the video. “Norway tops the World Press Freedom Index, India is 157th, competing with Palestine, the Emirates and Cuba. Our job is to challenge the powers we work with.”
However, the reason behind the suspension of her Meta accounts has yet to be determined, but she cryptically cited it as “a small price to pay for freedom of the press”.
India rejects Helle Lyng’s allegations of human rights violations
After Helle Lyng Svendsen’s post went viral, Indian officials faced a lot of questions about “trust” and “human rights”. “Why should we trust you,” HT quoted Lyng as asking in an MEA press briefing, adding “you can promise to stop the human rights abuses going on in your country”. MEA officials categorically rejected allegations of human rights violations and emphasized the country’s constitutional values of justice, liberty and freedom of expression.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Sibi George defended India’s position and responded to Helle Lyng’s question on why India should be trusted given its alleged human rights abuses. The interaction took place when the senior diplomat was addressing a press conference on Monday evening to brief the media about PM Modi’s bilateral talks with the Norwegian Prime Minister.
