08 June,2026 05:58 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Swaroop Khan
Singer Swaroop Khan, who has lent his voice to popular Bollywood tracks like Tharki Chokro from PK and Ghoomar from Padmaavat, recently found himself caught in a bizarre online misinformation row. The playback singer was mistakenly declared dead on online platforms, Google and Wikipedia. Although the incident was corrected instantly, the singer has now opened up about the emotional impact it could have had on his family.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Swaroop Khan recalled his reaction when he first learned about the shocking misinformation through a friend. He shared that his first reaction was laughter. "One of my friends shared it with me and my manager. When I saw it, I started laughing. I thought, âWhat is this? I am sitting here alive and well, and I have been declared dead,'" the 34-year-old shared.
Soon, the singer and his team began investigating how the information surfaced online. He stated, "We checked and realised it had happened because of Wikipedia. Anyone can edit things there. My team got it corrected and by last night it had been removed."
Although his first reaction was humour, he later realised that the situation was serious and could have become more intense for his loved ones. "I felt very bad. Without knowing anything, how can someone say that a person is no longer in this world? Thankfully, it didn't reach my family first. Otherwise, they would have been extremely worried," he said.
Swaroop further explained that such misinformation can cause panic if family members or close friends happen to see the news before being able to contact the person concerned. He said, "Imagine if I had been travelling or unreachable for several hours. My family would have been disturbed. These things can create unnecessary panic and confusion."
The singer also explained that the mix-up may have happened because another Rajasthan-based folk singer with the same name recently died in an accident. "A folk singer named Swaroop Khan recently passed away in an accident. Our names, city and profession are similar, so perhaps the information got mixed up somewhere," he justified.
He also raised concern about how sensitive details about public figures can be altered online, saying, "There should be stricter safeguards in place. If platforms are displaying detailed information about public figures, they should have proper verification systems before any changes are made. Anyone should not be able to edit such sensitive information so easily. Tomorrow, something false can be written about anyone, and people may believe it to be true."
On a lighter note, the singer jokingly concluded, "People have been telling me that such news increases your age. After this incident, I feel my age has increased."
