On Tuesday (28th January), Reporters’ Collective took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform that the Modi government has stripped it of its ‘non-profit status.’
The development comes a month after the controversial group of journalists, funded by the American Deep State, published fake news about the Centre rigging data to show a dramatic decrease in poverty in India.
In a statement, the Reporters’ Collective claimed that the group had been existing as a ‘non-profit trust’ since July 2021.
Tax authorities have revoked our non-profit status, claiming journalism does not serve any public purpose and therefore cannot be carried out as a non-profit exercise. It severely impairs our ability to do journalism. Our statement: https://t.co/79tTEVW8UR pic.twitter.com/ZXRkCaSMcv
— the reporters' collective (@reporters_co) January 28, 2025
“But now the tax authorities have cancelled our non-profit status, claiming journalism does not serve any public purpose and therefore cannot be carried out as a non-profit exercise in India,” it alleged.
The Reporter’s Collective claimed that being revoked of ‘non-profit status’ by the tax authorities would hinder its ability to continue its ‘journalistic work’.
The Soros-funded group of journalists alleged, “The order cancelling our non-profit status severely impairs our ability to do our work and worsens the conditions for independent public-purposed journalism in the country.“
The Reporter’s Collective announced that it would seek legal remedies to undo the action of the Modi government.
“We are seeking legal remedies to protect the idea of journalism as a public good and our right to carry out investigative journalism, research and training free of encumbrances, fear or threats at The Collective,” it concluded.
Lies peddled by Reporters’ Collective
Reporters’ Collective published a report on 18th December 2024 alleging that the Narendra Modi government had rigged a “Homemade Poverty Index” to show a dramatic decrease in poverty in India.
It claimed that the government’s report of pulling 25 crore people out of poverty in 10 years was false because the govt of India added two important parameters to the global index.
The report alleged that because international agencies that publish global rankings couldn’t be bullied, the Modi govt invented its own index, and rigged the results to show good results.
Revealed: To show dramatic reduction in poverty, Modi gov't conjured up a new index and cherrypicked data to fit predetermined results, show confidential records.
— the reporters' collective (@reporters_co) December 18, 2024
Part 2 of The Ministry of Truth series by @shreegireesh 1/2 https://t.co/fsmzXZ1tpC
Reporters’ Collective provided no evidence at all about this claim of rigged data and just made several vague claims.
The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index was developed by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
And, the Reporters’ Collective report itself mentioned that the NITI Ayog, which created India’s own Multidimensional Poverty Index, partnered with OPHI and UNDP to develop the index.
Therefore, the creators of the global index agree with the addition of extra parameters for the Indian index. But dimwits at the Reporters’ Collective believe that it made the data ‘rigged’.
Links to American Deep State
It is important to look at the organisations behind Reporters’ Collective. A look at the list of donors of its parent organisation shows that it is backed by usual suspects behind the ongoing anti-India campaign.
Reporters’ Collective is run by the National Foundation for India, an FCRA-registered NGO.
A perusal of its donor list shows that the National Foundation for India is funded by the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundation of George Soros, the Omidyar Network, and the Rockefeller Foundation, among others.
All these organisations are part of the American Deep State network and have funded numerous anti-India campaigns and initiatives. The Reporters’ Collective is a part of the anti-India front of the American Deep State.
The fake news published by it in December last year is in line with the textbook approach adopted by George Soros and his Open Society Foundations to influence civil society and ‘distort’ public perspectives across different nations.
