Singer Swaroop Khan recently found himself at the centre of a bizarre online mix-up after Google briefly showed him as deceased, and the Rajasthani folk singer reveals that initially, he couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity of the situation. But eventually, it did hit him hard.
Speaking to HT City, Khan shares when he first learnt about the error when a friend sent him a screenshot. “One of my friends shared it with me and my manager. When I saw it, I started laughing. I thought, ‘What is this? I am sitting here alive and well, and I have been declared dead,’” he recalls.
The singer who is known for songs like Tharki Chokro (PK, 2014) and Ghoomar (Padmaavat, 2018), believes the information may have originated from Wikipedia and was subsequently reflected on Google. “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,” he shares.
While Khan initially reacted with humour, he admits the incident was disturbing. “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,” says the 34 year old. Pointing at the wider implications of such misinformation, Khan says, “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.”
Swaroop suspects the mix-up may have been linked to the recent death of another Rajasthan-based folk artist who shared the same name. “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 shares. Questioning how easily information on public profiles can be altered, Khan says, “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.”
Despite the scare, Khan chooses to see the lighter side of the situation. “People have been telling me that such news increases your age. After this incident, I feel my age has increased,” he jokes.