‘Thank you India’: Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng back on Instagram after Meta suspension sparked by PM Modi query
Helle Lyng has confirmed that her Instagram account is active again and posted a video shortly after regaining access.
Lyng reflected on her interaction with the Indian media and spoke about how press conferences are typically handled in Norway. (Source: @HelleLyngSvends/X) Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who recently went viral after posing a question to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while he was in Norway, has returned to Instagram after her accounts on photo- and video-sharing platforms and Facebook were briefly suspended amid intense online backlash.
Sharing the suspension update on X, Lyng said she had been locked out of her Instagram account for hours before it was eventually suspended. “It is a small price to pay for press freedom, but I’ve never experienced it before,” she said.
She also posted a screenshot that appeared to show the suspension notice.
Check out the post:
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. pic.twitter.com/XCitS65Rlg
— Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) May 19, 2026
Later, Lyng said anyone trying to reach her through Meta-owned platforms would not be able to do so because both her Instagram and Facebook accounts had been taken down. “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,” she wrote while tagging Meta.
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. @Meta
— Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) May 19, 2026
Lyng has now confirmed that her Instagram account is active again. She posted a two-part video shortly after regaining access, writing in the caption of the first clip, “Thank you India. Posting now in case I get kicked out again.”
In the video, she thanked people for their support online. “Thank you so much for all the support and to all the people who sent me messages and said that they appreciate my journalism,” she said.
View this post on Instagram
In the second video, Lyng reflected on her interaction with the Indian media and spoke about how press conferences are typically handled in Norway.
“The Indian Prime Minister, he doesn’t have to answer. That is his choice, but it still is my duty to try to get answers,” she said in the video.
View this post on Instagram
The controversy erupted after Lyng attempted to ask PM Modi a question during a joint appearance with Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre. As Modi walked out of the room, she called out, “Why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?”
The remark quickly spread across social media, although it remains unclear whether PM Modi heard her. Later, Lyng defended her actions on X, saying she never expected Modi to respond.
Pointing to the global press freedom rankings, she noted that Norway is ranked first on the World Press Freedom Index, while India is ranked 157. Lyng works for the Oslo-based newspaper Dagsavisen.
The episode also led to a dramatic rise in her online following. According to reports, her X account grew from fewer than 800 followers earlier this week to over 84,000 within just a few days.
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