Controversies

Siddaramaiah files defamation suit against 42 media organisations and digital platforms over honey-trap videos

Lawsuit filed

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah filed a defamation suit before the Bengaluru City Civil and Sessions Court against 42 defendants, including Freedom TV Kannada, the YouTube channel Karnataka Honey Trap, WhatsApp, YouTube LLC, Google India, Yahoo India and Facebook India. He seeks to restrain publication of two videos allegedly linking him to a honey-trap controversy and to have the content removed and access disabled. He contends the material lacks independently verifiable evidence, alleges the timing and commentary were intended to bring him into public disrepute, and denies the insinuations as false and baseless. The judge reserved orders on the interim application on Monday (October 12, 2026), with the order to be pronounced on October 13, 2026.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has filed a defamation suit before the Bengaluru City Civil and Sessions Court against 42 defendants, including Freedom TV Kannada, the YouTube channel Karnataka Honey Trap, WhatsApp, YouTube LLC, Google India, Yahoo India and Facebook India, seeking to restrain publication of two videos allegedly linking him to a honey-trap controversy and to have the content removed and access disabled. He contends the material lacks independently verifiable evidence, alleges the timing and commentary were intended to bring him into public disrepute, and categorically denies the insinuations as false and baseless. The judge reserved orders on the interim application on Monday (October 12, 2026), with the order to be pronounced on October 13, 2026.

Stated objective. To restrain the defendants from broadcasting, publishing or sharing the two videos and related clips, screenshots, transcripts or reports, to have the videos removed, and to have the relevant digital platforms disable access to the content.

Google apologizes over Kannada search result

Company response

After a Google Search for “ugliest language in India” showed “Kannada” in the results, Google India said the result did not reflect the company’s opinions, apologized for the misunderstanding and hurt sentiments, and said the issue had been rectified.