Prabir Purkayastha, the editor of the news website NewsClick, and other Indian Leftists engaged in discussions centered around supporting China’s stance on its management of the COVID-19 pandemic. These conversations included controversial US millionaire and Chinese propaganda advocate, Neville Roy Singham.
During the early stages of the pandemic, Singham introduced his Beijing-based team to individuals like Purkayastha, Prasanth Radhakrishnan, and economist Srujana Bodapati via email. The objective was to deliberate on a “three-article series on China and its handling of the virus.” Vijay Prasad, the editor of the Left-leaning site Tricontinental where the series was eventually published, also engaged in these discussions. Singham referred to these individuals as “international friends who work together on creating information for the people.”
Vijay Prasad, a relative of Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat, is associated with the global news syndicate platform, Globetrotter, where he serves as chief correspondent. Purkayastha is also a fellow writer at Globetrotter.
Singham cautioned against sharing the conversation and suggested that Prasad maintain control until the publication of the articles titled “China and CoronaShock,” “CoronaShock and the Hybrid War Against Venezuela,” and “CoronaShock and Socialism,” spanning three months from April 28, 2020.
The articles aimed to counter allegations of China’s mismanagement of the pandemic and its reporting lapses. Instead, they contended that China’s warnings were ignored by the US and other democratic nations. The pieces defended China against accusations of suppressing information and highlighted challenges in handling unknown outbreaks.
In 2021, NewsClick editor Purkayastha’s residences and offices underwent searches, with Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials revealing fraudulent foreign funds of $0.55 million injected into NewsClick over three years. Subsequently, an upscale Delhi flat linked to Purkayastha was seized by the ED following a report from The New York Times.
