Millionaire Neville Singham Slams NYT For Alleging His Connection To Chinese Propaganda Network

American millionaire and tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, who was accused of being the nucleus of a global web of Chinese propaganda, has released a statement rejecting the allegations against him and slammed the New York Times article that made the claims, noting that the publication "has done a great disservice to the cause to press freedom."

He has also mentioned how the NYT piece kicked up a "firestorm" in India over allegations in the article about news website NewsClick being part of the Chinese propaganda web.

"On August 5, 2023, the New York Times (NYT) ran a misleading and innuendo-laden hit piece on me and others that, among other things, provoked a firestorm in India and inflamed the situation regarding the Indian news website portal NewsClick," Singham wrote in his rebuttal, which was published by The Wire Tuesday.

"Twelve days after the publication, on August 17, the Delhi Police Station Special Cell secretly prepared and issued a First Information Report (FIR)," he said. "Full of defamatory allegations and factual errors, the FIR led to the interrogation of nearly 100 journalists, the detention of dozens and the eventual arrest of two people on October 3, 2023. After the arrests, the FIR entered the public domain, the release of which is damaging to me and many others."

"The language used in the FIR strongly suggests that its claims were influenced by misinformation from the NYT article," he added.

Singham, a U.S. citizen since birth and currently living in Shanghai, China, said he was deeply "shocked and saddened" by the arrest of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and one of Purkayastha's colleagues.

The FIR filed by the Delhi Police claimed that Singham had close ties to the Chinese government's media wing and financed outlets speaking in favor of Beijing.

Singham, in his statement, expressed disappointment about the NYT article's effect in India, a country that neighbors Sri Lanka, his father's ancestral home.

"I write this as someone who dearly loves India, having had a long-standing relationship with the country and its people ... " he said.

Singham also accused NYT of "intentionally" not publishing his side of the story even though he provided his statement prior to the article's publication.

"The NYT intentionally chose not to publish all the factual rebuttals that I provided to them on July 22, 2023, prior to their publication date. The NYT has done a great disservice to the cause to press freedom," he said.

Citing an article published by Indian news outlet The Hindu, Singham said the report covers details about the investment made in NewsClick by the U.S.-based Worldwide Media Holdings LLC, which is owned by Peoples Support Foundation, Ltd (PSF).

Jason Pfetcher, manager of WMH and former employee of ThoughtWorks, a company founded by Singham, wrote the statement published by The Hindu and denied the allegations made by Indian authorities about Chinese government money or Chinese private money being linked to NewsClick.

Pfetcher noted in the statement that he, on behalf of PSF, had responded to NYT before the Aug. 5 article was published and said PSF never received any funding or took directions from any foreign individual, organization, political party or government.

In Singham's rebuttal, he rejected "the false claims that I have received funds from any government or political party, including China and the Communist Party of China."

"Let me be very clear. I do not work for, nor take instruction from, nor receive funding from the Propaganda Department or any division of the Chinese government or the Communist Party of China, as the FIR claims and is suggested in the NYT article. In fact, I do not take orders from any government or political party in the world," he said.

Singham also rejected allegations about his connection to the funding of a "complex web of several entities," as mentioned in the NYT article and the FIR filed by the Delhi Police.

"I also reject any innuendo that I violate any Indian or U.S. law by working with banned organizations. There is just no proof of such accusations because they are untrue," he added.