Mumbai: A screenshot claiming comedian Samay Raina has joined LinkedIn as its “Head of Communications and Ethics” has gone viral on social media.
The claim surfaced amid the ongoing controversy surrounding his show India’s Got Latent and a recent row over remarks involving Bihar.
There is, however, no credible evidence to suggest that Raina has joined LinkedIn in the role mentioned in the viral screenshot.
The screenshot claims that The Daily Ledger published an August 18 report titled “Samay Raina Joins LinkedIn as Head of Communications & Ethics”. While The Daily Ledger is the name of a real newspaper based in Canton, Illinois, the report about Raina appears to be satire.
The claim was also called fake by G Harshith Aditya Varma, a LinkedIn creator from the Greater Hyderabad area.
In a post, Varma addressed the viral headline and dismissed it as false. His LinkedIn profile identifies him as the Head of Growth at LinkedINspire.
The viral claim emerged shortly after the latest episode of India’s Got Latent, which featured a roast exchange between Raina and comedian Sharon Verma.
Sharon, who appeared as a panellist after being part of the show’s first season, exchanged jokes with Raina about their regional backgrounds.
During the segment, Raina made a joke about Bihar while introducing Sharon, who is from the state. She responded with a joke about his Kashmiri roots, while Raina later joked about her move to Mumbai for work.
Samay said, “She’s so Bihari, she thinks Ebola means someone said something.”
Sharon replied, “Samay is so Kashmiri, he loves getting stoned.”
Raina then said, “You know, Sharon Verma is a Bihari who came to Mumbai in search of a job. Just Bihari things.”
Sharon retorted, “At least I left my state by my choice.”
The exchange was part of the roast segment, but clips from the episode later drew criticism on social media.
Several political figures, including BJP leader Ram Kadam, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey and Bihar Education Minister Mithilesh Tiwari, reacted to the controversy.
Actor Manoj Bajpayee also shared his views on the debate surrounding the Bihari-Kashmiri stereotypes.
