New York : Scrutiny, attention and controversy — all came at once for a little-known Norwegian journalist after she attempted to question Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his media briefing with his Norwegian counterpart. While it is unclear if PM Modi heard the question, he left the room. The moment was enough to spark a debate on press freedom. Amid the controversy, the spotlight has now turned to Lyng herself and her social media activity.
“Narendra Modi would not take my question; I was not expecting him to. Norway has the number one spot on the World Press Freedom Index, India is at 157th,” Lyng, who works with Oslo-based paper Dagsavisen, tweeted. As the incident blew up on social media and the opposition also seized on the incident to target PM Modi.
The press briefing itself turned tense as Lyng raised questions on India’s credibility and human rights record. MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George gave a meandering response that touched on India’s civilisation, the origins of chess, yoga, Covid vaccine diplomacy, etc. In fact, more than his response, his facial expressions and antics grabbed more attention.
Lyng came under a torrent of online abuse, with some calling her a “foreign plant”, “spy” and even a “Chinese proxy”, referring to her past articles praising Beijing and Xi Jinping. Several also pointed out that it was a joint briefing by PM Modi and the Norwegian PM and not a press conference.
What particularly drew scrutiny is her X activity. Before her post on PM Modi, Lyng’s last activity on X was on April 10, 2024, where she posted her article on youngsters struggling with cocaine addiction. Before that, she posted in 2022. In 2021, she retweeted a post that shared a picture of PM Modi and world leaders tossing a coin during the G20 Rome Summit.
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