What The NYT Report Said About NewsClick's Link With Chinese Communist Party

This morning (3 October), Delhi Police conducted raids at 35 locations, including the residences of seven journalists associated with the news portal NewsClick, in connection with a case involving funding from China.

During the raids, multiple laptops and mobile phones were confiscated. Although no arrests have been made thus far, NDTV reports that some journalists have been brought in for questioning.

The Delhi Police has invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the NewsClick.

Earlier in August, a New York Times investigation implicated NewsClick as one of the organisations funded by a network associated with US millionaire Neville Roy Singham, allegedly promoting Chinese propaganda.

Here is what the New York Times report revealed about the NewsClick link with Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its funding and the involvement of Chinese propaganda.

The report identifies Singham as the individual responsible for funding and sponsoring Chinese propaganda toolkit, including the news portal, Newsclick.

"In New Delhi, corporate filings show, Mr. Singham’s network financed a news site, NewsClick, that sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points," the NYT reported.

The NYT alleged that through "a tangle of nonprofit groups and shell companies", Singham “works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda ”.

The report stated that "Singham, 69, operates out of Shanghai, where one outlet in his network is co-producing a YouTube show financed in part by the city’s propaganda department."

According to the NYT, Neville Roy Singham's father was a leftist academic, and Singham himself is a long-time activist who founded the software consultancy firm Thoughtworks, based in Chicago.

The report states that "from a think tank in Massachusetts to an event space in Manhattan, from a political party in South Africa to news organizations in India and Brazil, the Times tracked hundreds of millions of dollars to groups linked to Singham that mix progressive advocacy with Chinese government talking points."

The NYT report reveals that even while working at the consultancy firm, Singham advocated for creating an "egalitarian corporate culture".

The report also mentions that Singham discussed the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara during his time at the company, as cited by an employee.

Back in 2021, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a case against NewsClick, scrutinising its financial transactions. The central agency had also seized assets linked to the news portal.

ED discovered that the promoters of NewsClick had received approximately Rs 38 crore from entities allegedly linked to the CCP.