The NewsClick searches have left public opinion cleaved between the excessive nature of the police action and suspicion surrounding allegations of Chinese funding. The Indian media, too, seems to be a divided house, with one section trying to portray journalists linked to the portal as “Chinese Jaichands”.
Though the Indian regulatory framework allows foreign funding in the news media industry (more on that later), at the heart of the case against NewsClick is the portal’s alleged use of foreign funds to allegedly peddle “false narratives” against India and in favour of its geopolitical rival.
