On August 17, a complaint was brought against NewsClick under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) because the authorities believed that the portal was using foreign cash to push the Chinese agenda.Even a New York Times investigative report made this claim.
Source: Dailyo
When one looks into the history of the crackdown, one finds a string of inquiries and actions by the Economic Offences Wing, Enforcement Directorate, and police investigating claims that the news outlet had received questionable funding from China. In the past three years, the ED is thought to have tracked transfers totaling Rs 39 crore from dubious sources into the company’s account.
Source: CNN- News 18
Employees of the news outlet must not be subjected to harassment as authorities continue their investigation into whether the promoters engaged in other illegal acts or violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Individual journalists with a solid track record shouldn’t be held accountable for the promoters’ and financiers’ potential financial transgressions.
India’s falling press freedom ranking, which dropped 11 points from its position in 2022 to the 161st rank out of 180 nations on the World Press Freedom Index-2023, is alarming in terms of freedom of speech.
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