Who is Neville Roy Singham, named in NYT report on alleged ‘NewsClick-China links’?

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday alleged that the Congress, news portal NewsClick and China were linked to an “anti-India umbilical cord” as Union minister Anurag Thakur cited a report by The New York Times to claim that companies linked to China were funding the website.

In the controversy, the name of American millionaire Neville Roy Singham also emerged in the NYT's report, which claimed that NewsClick was part of a global network that received funding from Singham, to allegedly spread Chinese propaganda in India.

"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.

Also Read: Chaos in Lok Sabha over NYT report, BJP MPs accuse Congress of Chinese links: ‘Between 2005 and 2014…’

Who is Neville Roy Singham?

1) Born on May 13, 1954, in the United States, Neville Roy Singham is the son of leftist academic Archibald Singham. Singham's father was born in Burma to Sri Lankan parents and served as a professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York until his demise in 1991.

2) Singham is the founder and former chairman of ThoughtWorks, a Chicago-based software consultancy. According to his LinkedIn profile, he served at the company for about 24 years from 1993 until 2017, when he sold it. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from the US-based Howard University and also attended the University of Michigan, his LinkedIn showed.

3) In 2016, Singham married activist Jodie Evans, a former Democratic political adviser and the co-founder of Code Pink. The NYT alleged that CodePink, once a staunch critic of China, has turned its defender in the recent past and linked the alleged shift in stance with Singham's network of funding.

4) Currently, he hosts an office space in China's Shanghai, on the 18th floor of Times Square. NYT claimed that there, one outlet in his network is co-producing a YouTube show financed in part by the city’s propaganda department.

5) The 69-year-old millionaire is described as a “socialist benefactor of far-left causes” and has been alleged of having direct contact with the propaganda arm of the Communist Party of China. However, his LinkedIn profile describes his ongoing work profile as “retired."