Chinese Telcos Accused of Funding Investigated Indian News Portal

Indian police have accused Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Vivo Mobile of illegally transferring funds to a news portal under investigation for spreading Chinese propaganda. The police complaint alleges that large amounts of funds were received from China to push biased news criticizing Indian policies and projects while defending Chinese policies and programs. Xiaomi and Vivo Mobile have denied the allegations, while NewsClick, the news portal in question, has called the accusations baseless and absurd. Media rights and opposition groups in India view the investigation as a crackdown on the press, a charge dismissed by the government.