Who is Neville Roy Singham, accused of spreading Chinese propaganda?

The Centre has come out swinging at US tech millionaire Neville Roy Singham. Union minister Anurag Thakur, citing a report from The New York Times, has accused Singham of funding the website NewsClick and having ‘direct ties’ with the Communist Party of China’s propaganda arm and the Chinese media firm Maku Group. “They present fake news in the name of free news. Congress and other parties are supporting them,” Thakur, claiming they are linked by ‘anti-India umbilical cord’, alleged. But who is Singham? And what does The New York Times report say about him? Let’s take a closer look: Early years and career As per NDTV, Singham was born on 13 May, 1954. Singham is the son of leftist academic Archibald Singham, as per The New York Times. Archibald was a political science professor at City University, Brooklyn College, New York, as per NDTV. Archibald took to task US interventions in communist Grenada, as per News18. Singham has been politically active since his youth when he joined the League of Revolutionary Black Workers – a Black nationalist-Maoist group in Detroit.

Singham worked as a strategic technical consultant for Huawei from 2001 to 2008.

Singham’s LinkedIn profile describes him as the founder and former chairperson of ThoughtWorks Inc – an Information Technology firm based in Chicago. ThoughtWorks’ company website describes the company as a “leading global technology consultancy that integrates strategy, design and software engineering to enable enterprises and technology disruptors to thrive.” Singham a few years ago sold his company to a private equity firm for $785 million, as per The New York Times. “I decided that at my age and extreme privilege, the best thing I could do was to give away most of my money in my lifetime,” Singham said in a statement. Family Singham married former Democratic political adviser and Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans in 2017. The ceremony was attended by celebrities including Democracy Now host Amy Goodman, Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohon and Vagina Monologues’ author V (formerly known as Eve Ensler). As per The New York Times, the wedding, held in Jamaica, also doubled as a meet.

An invite to the soiree noted a panel discussion to be held entitled The Future of the Left.

Singham’s son works for Massachusetts-based think tank Tricontinental, as per News18. What is the report claiming? The New York Times in its report entitled A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a US Tech Mogul claimed that the news portal NewsClick is part of a global network that received funding from Singham – who allegedly works closely with the Chinese government media machine. “In New Delhi, corporate filings show, Singham’s network financed a news site, NewsClick, that sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points. ‘China’s history continues to inspire the working classes,’ one video said,” The New York Times report noted. The report also states that Singham, 69, is now based in Shanghai. It details how one outlet in his web is co-producing a YouTube show financed at least in part by the propaganda department, while others are working alongside a Chinese university to “spread China’s voice to the world.” “Singham says he does not work at the direction of the Chinese government. But the line between him and the propaganda apparatus is so blurry that he shares office space — and his groups share staff members — with a company whose goal is to educate foreigners about “the miracles that China has created on the world stage,” the report states.

The report notes how Singham in June was present at a propaganda forum of the CPC.

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A photo showed Singham jotting down points in a notebook adorned with a red hammer and sickle, the report states. What is the Centre saying? The government has claimed vindication and slammed the Congress. Addressing a press conference along with Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the BJP headquarters , Thakur said India was telling the world that NewsClick was a dangerous global network of propaganda. [caption id=“attachment_12967832” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur slammed the Congress. ANI[/caption] When Enforcement Directorate raids were conducted against NewsClick two years ago, he said, the Congress and other Opposition parties stood by the news portal and questioned the government’s action, raising the issue of press freedom. “The newspaper (NYT), about which Congress and opposition parties talk big, has confirmed what India had said two years ago. In 2021, we exposed NewsClick and how foreign hand was working against India,” Thakur said. The Congress and opposition parties had then come in support of the “anti-India, break India campaign,” he charged. “Congress, China and NewsClick are part of one anti-India umbilical cord,” Thakur alleged, adding “Chinese goods are being sold in Rahul Gandhi ji’s fake ‘Mohabbat ki Dukan’ (shop of love).” The minister said, “If you see the funding network of NewsClick, it was funded by a foreigner, Neville Roy Singham, and he gets funds from China. Neville Roy Singham has direct contact with the propaganda arm of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese media company Maku Group,” he said. “They present fake news in the name of free news. Congress and other parties are supporting them,” he alleged. Earlier in the day, BJP member Nishikant Dubey mentioned in Lok Sabha the New York Times report. There was no immediate reaction available from the news portal or Congress. With inputs from agencies