On Sunday (October 17), the anti-semitic organisation ‘Stop Funding Hate (SFH)’ went on an unhinged tirade against OpIndia after we exposed ‘The Guardian’ for shielding, giving legitimacy to Islamists and their apologists who orchestrated attacks on the Hindu community in Leicester.
‘Stop Funding Hate’ desperately wanted to strip OpIndia of advertisement revenue for showcasing the true plight of Leicester Hindus to the world, who were left at the mercy of Islamists and their sympathisers in the media industry.
In a tweet, SFH wrote, “If you’re concerned about the toxic narratives being promoted on OpIndia, there’s a way to take action. Go to this webpage and take a screenshot showing the advertiser. Tweet the screenshot to the brand.”
The anti-semitic organisation took particular offence to an OpIndia article, criticising businessman George Soros for disseminating anti-India narrative through leftist news portals.
SFH pleaded with companies such as Highways UK, Vikings UK, and even Nike for placing their ads on the Opindia website. Miffed by the expose on Soros, it asked international firms to exclude Opindia from online advertising.
‘Stop Funding Hate’ then relied upon a propaganda piece by leftist rag ‘Newslaundry,’ which cited the ‘testimony’ of a fictitious ex-OpIndia employee to claim that we are spreading hate against the Muslim community.
The Guardian Debacle
The targeting of OpIndia by the anti-semitic organisation began after we exposed the tactics, adopted by The Guardian journalist Aina J Khan, to blame the violence against Hindus in Leicester on themselves.
In an intellectually dishonest piece, Khan had distinctly associated religious identity with groups of Hindu protestors, with phrases such as “unplanned protest of Hindu men,” and “Hindu men were filmed marching.”
However, she shrewdly chose not to point out the religious affiliation of the man who desecrated a Hindu temple and uprooted a saffron flag. In a bid to shield her co-religionist who desecrated the Hindu place of worship, Aina J khan used the bait of a ‘good Imam.’
We are aware of video circulating showing a man pulling down a flag outside a religious building on Melton Road. This appears to have taken place while officers were dealing with nearby public disorder. We do not tolerate violence or disorder and are investigating the incident.
— Leicestershire Police (@leicspolice) September 18, 2022
The Guardian journalist thereby shifted the public discourse from the vicious attack on a temple by her co-religionist to the alleged benevolence of a ‘bystander’ Imam.
When OpIndia pointed out the obvious discrepancy in her reportage, Aina J Khan cried foul and dubbed the criticism as ‘Islamophobia.’
‘Stop Funding Hate’ tries to shut down the messenger
Given that OpIndia has been the frontrunner in debunking disinformation about the Leicester violence, ‘Stop Funding Hate’ sought to attack the messenger. In a bid to do so, it dug out old articles, quoted them out of context and begged companies to remove advertising from our platform.
This is however not the first time that the anti-semitic organisation has tried to coerce companies to cut advertising revenue to our news platform.
Hi @OxfordSBS we’re guessing you’re unaware that your advertising is appearing on this article seeking to justify discrimination against Muslims? https://t.co/4ryRo14aht Will you take action to exclude OpIndia from your online advertising programme? – cc @NUSUK pic.twitter.com/IGLMweYcDj
— Stop Funding Hate (@StopFundingHate) May 29, 2020
In the words of our CEO Rahul Roushan, “Ads are there on the website as extra revenues and they never hurt anyone. However, the bulk of our revenues are in the form of voluntary payments by our readers, who pay us for the content they have already consumed.” However, this form of targeted harassment is bullying and an attempt to shut down dissenting voice that threatens to harm their narrative.
“We have left the rates on the consumer to decide, based on how much they have consumed and how much they can afford. We’ve seen students in tier II cities paying us as little as 10 rupees to working professionals in big cities paying Rs. 3 lakh. That’s what keeps us going, not ads,” he had said in 2020 when SFH had attacked us the last time.
As an organisation registered in the UK, SFH has every right to participate in the political debates of their country. However, an attempt to silence media portals in India due to their personal political preferences is a direct attempt at interfering with the politics of our country.
It is as sinister as election interference that the Left and Congress rails against. However, it sees no issue at all in targeting media portals abroad which would definitely impact political debates in the country.
Stop Funding hate is linked to UK’s Labour Party
Stop Funding Hate is closely linked to the Labour Party, has a history of antisemitism and has on its board members who seek to impose their own will on politics.
It is important to understand here that SFH is no different from FCRA NGOs such as Amnesty which openly attempt to influence the politics of the country, which is extremely problematic considering its links to the British government.
It is no different from Oxfam India which had urged the Congress party to form an ‘alliance’ with ‘civil society organisations’. It has tried its bullying tactic in the UK as well, against newspapers such as The Sun, Daily Mail and the Daily Express.
In response, they were subjected to much criticism although the usual Far-Left echo chamber cheered them on relentlessly. SFH partners with organisations such as National Union of Students, Accord, Citizens UK, Tell MAMA among others.
All of these are far-left organisations with no representation at all from the other end of the political spectrum. It also partners with the Centre for Hate Studies of the University of Leicester.
Stop Funding Hate has in its board members associated with far-left organisations. They have been described as ‘far-left Corbynistas’ in numerous publications.
Richard Wilson, one such board member, has been formerly associated with Amnesty International, the dubious NGO which is under investigation in India for alleged violation of FCRA laws and has a history of links with radical Islamic organisations.
