Norwegian reporter Helle Lyng's Instagram, Facebook account ‘suspended’ after viral PM Modi video

Norwegian “journalist” Helle Lyng who is in the limelight since she posted brusque to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint media appearance with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo. She became viral for asking PM Modi to take questions “from the freest press in the world” as he exited the joint event.

A chain of reactions followed that triggered a political storm with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rebutting queries on “trust” and a series of online statements. In the aftermath of her bold question, she revealed that her Instagram and Facebook social media accounts have been suspended.

In a post on X, Helle Lyng announced that two of her social media portals have been suspended. “If you’re trying to reach me on Instagram or Facebook, I would like to let you know I have been suspended from both accounts. I have wanted to respond to as many Indians as possible, but my responses will now be delayed. I hope I will get my accounts back,” Helle Lyng's post on X said.

Sharing a screenshot of her Instagram account in another post on X, she stated, "Throughout all day I have struggled to log onto my Instagram account. Now I have been suspended. It is a small prize to pay for press freedom, but I’ve never experienced it before.

While she tried to access her Instagram account, the portal in Norwegian stated:

"We have suspended your account, Hellelyng. 180 days left to appeal the decision, otherwise your account will be permanently deactivated. Suspended on 19 May 2026

What does this mean? Your account is not visible to others on Instagram at the moment, and you cannot use it.

What you can do - You have 180 days left to appeal our decision.

We may need to ask you for some information that will help us review your account again.

You can access a copy of what you have shared on Instagram. Download a copy."

All the debacle on freedom of press began on Monday at a joint press statement event of PM Modi and his Norwegian counterpart. Helle Lyng's, who identifies herself as a journalist of Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen, shared a clip of the event in which one can hear her ask the Prime Minister why he doesn't take questions from the “world's freest press”.

The caption to the video stated, “Prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, would not take my question, I was not expecting him to,” she said in the post, sharing the video. “Norway has the number one spot on the World Press Freedom Index, India is at 157th, competing with Palestine, Emirates & Cuba. It is our job to question the powers we cooperate with.”

Watch viral video here:

However, the reason for her suspension of her Meta accounts has not been established yet, but she cryptically cited it as a “small prize to pay for press. freedom”.

Ministry of External Affairs Secretary, Sibi George, defended India's position while responding to Helle Lyng's question about why India should be trusted given its alleged human rights violations. This interaction happened when the senior diplomat was addressing a press conference on Monday night to brief the media on PM Modi's bilateral talks with the Norwegian Prime Minister.