India: Norwegian journalist victim of cyber harassment and doxxing after criticising Narendra Modi’s refusal to answer the press

Her simple question sparked a storm. On 18 May, journalist Helle Lyng, from the Oslo-based daily newspaper Dagsavisen, was in attendance at a press conference in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, bringing together Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre. The two leaders had warned that they would not be taking questions from the media.

As they were leaving the stage, she challenged the Indian head of government: "Prime Minister Modi, why don't you take some questions from the freest press in the world?" Narendra Modi, who has never held a single press conference since he came to power in 2014, left the room without answering.

"I knew beforehand they would not take questions," she said when contacted by RSF. "I refuse the premise that a foreign leader can come to Norway and just do talking points and get off stage without answering questions from the press. Especially a leader as powerful as the prime minister of India."

The journalist later posted about what happened on X, citing the RSF World Press Freedom Index: "Prime Minister of India, 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, competing with Palestine, Emirates & Cuba. It is our job to question the powers we cooperate with.""

Since that post, Helle Lyng has faced a barrage of hostile messages on social media, originating from accounts linked to the Hindu nationalist far right. Some posts have accused her of being a "spy," a "Chinese propaganda agent," a "Pakistani agent," a "prostitute," and a "jihadist," among other insults. A profile published shortly afterwards on the platform OpIndia - a key player in the online abuse targeting journalists in India - further fuelling the attacks against her.

The journalist also stated on X that her Instagram and Facebook accounts were suspended on 19 May: "Throughout all the day I have struggled to log onto my Instagram account. Now I have been suspended. It is a small price to pay for press freedom, but I've never experienced it before." She was finally able to log back into Facebook the following day, but her Instagram account is still blocked. Her phone number has also been circulating, and she has received threatening WhatsApp messages , including one wishing her family would get "nuked."