Renowned playback singer Sonu Nigam slammed a leading news portal for attributing a controversial social media post to him, which was actually made by an imposter account. The singer took to Instagram on Thursday (May 22) to express his outrage, accusing the media of spreading misinformation and misleading the public.
The controversy stems from a post made by an X account having the same name as the singer. The user engaged in a heated response to BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over the ongoing Kannada language row. Surya had criticised a State Bank of India branch manager in Karnataka for allegedly refusing to speak Kannada, stating, “Banks working in Karnataka should serve customers in Kannada. Period.”
In response, the user, whose name is also Sonu Nigam, wrote, “Don’t dub Kannada movies in Hindi! Don’t release Kannada movies pan-India! Do you have the guts to say this to Kannada film stars, Mr. @Tejasvi_Surya, or are you just another language warrior?”
The news outlet thought the post was shared by the singer and the quoted him in the article along with his photo. This did not go down well with the singer who lashed out at the portal.
Sharing screenshots of the now-viral post and the news article on Instagram, Sonu wrote, “Times of India, are you out of your mind? How many times have I declared I am not on Twitter? Spreading misinformation on my name is only going to poison the minds of people who have loved me so much all these years.”
He added, “Not everyone will have the sense to fact check you news. I’m truly done with this country’s desperate and brutal media. Shame.”
Sonu has clarified multiple times that he is not on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Even in February 2025, he warned his followers about the account and expressed concern over how easily people could be misled. In June 2024, he had issued a similar clarification after the same user posted a sensational political remark, causing confusion among netizens and the media. Back then, the ‘Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin’ singer also threatened legal action against the user.
Despite his repeated warnings from the singer, the account remains active, raising concerns about identity misuse and online safety.
In response, the user had mentioned that his real name is ‘Sonu Nigam’ and reiterated that it is not his fault if social media users mistook him for the singer. In a long social media post, he had also mentioned that the accusations against him are ‘unfair’ and have caused him ‘distress’.
