BJP uses NYT report on Chinese propaganda to target Congress

An article published in The New York Times (NYT) alleging Chinese propaganda to promote its political agenda across the world, found mention in the Lok Sabha Monday with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) using the report to launch a scathing attack against the Congress. The matter was raised by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey in Lok Sabha, on a day Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attended his first session in the lower house of Parliament after his membership was revoked following a Supreme Court order which stayed his conviction in a defamation case.

An article published in the US daily, The New York Times, earlier this month accused American millionaire Neville Roy Singham of “working closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide”. The report further added that in New Delhi, “Mr Singham’s network financed a news site, NewsClick, that sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points. The 69-year-old millionaire has denied working at the direction of the Chinese government. The NYT report does not make any mention of the Congress. The BJP’s attack on the Congress is based on a past ED raid against NewsClick, when the Congress was reportedly among those who had spoken in defence of the news portal.

The BJP later addressed a press conference on the issue. “India had been highlighting how NewsClick was a dangerous tool of misinformation and was used for anti-India narrative. But the Ghamandiya [arrogant] coalition [of parties in opposition to the BJP], Congress, China and NewsClick are part of an umbilical cord. Chinese goods are quite visible in Rahul Gandhi’s nafrat ki dukan [shop of hatred]. An anti-India and break-India narrative was being spread by these,” Union minister of I&B, Anurag Thakur said.He added: “Way back in the year 2021, when India’s law enforcement agencies initiated an inquiry against NewsClick based on strong evidence of money laundering, the Congress and the entire Left-Liberal ecosystem came to defend it.

News Click की फंडिंग एक विदेशी नेविल रॉय सिंघम ने की, जिसे पीछे से चीन द्वारा फंड दिया जाता था।

भारत ने 2021 में ही News Click के बारे में खुलासा किया था कि कैसे विदेशी हाथ भारत के खिलाफ हैं।

उस Anti India और Break India कैंपेन में कांग्रेस और विपक्षी दल भी उनके समर्थन में आए… pic.twitter.com/rpZExjGPVN

— BJP (@BJP4India) August 7, 2023

Minister of state (MoS) for IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said at the press conference, how some countries are actively fanning misinformation in our country with the help of some news platforms in India and with the help of and to help some political parties in India. He added: “Over a thousand accounts had to be removed in 2021 when we found that they were fanning misinformation in India, whether it was from Pakistan or from Khalistani elements. This news revelation [a reference to the NYT article] further reinforces the threat that our democratic society and our open media face when a group of people and vested interest get together [to] invest in platforms and these groups operate in remarkable coordination and they share a remarkably common consistent goal — lies and hatred about our PM, lies and hatred about our government and fanning communal disharmony and incitement.”