French outlet Mediapart slams BJP for ‘exploiting’ reportage to spread ‘fake news’

In a strongly-worded statement issued on Sunday (December 7), the Mediapart’s publisher and director Carine Fouteau said that she “condemns” the “instrumentalisation” of its recently published exclusive article on another investigative media outlet, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Fouteau alleged that the BJP used its investigative article, titled 'The hidden links between a giant of investigative journalism and the US government', to serve BJP’s political agenda and attack press freedom.

Pointing out that there are no facts in the article to substantiate the “conspiracy theory” promoted by the BJP,

Mediapart’s publisher further asserted that “BJP wrongly exploited Mediapart’s article in order to spread fake news that we never published”.

She expressed “full support to the courageous Indian and international journalists who report and investigate in India”.

In Parliament and on its social media accounts, BJP lawmakers last week had referred to the Mediapart report to lash out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, accusing him of joining hands with the OCCRP and US billionaire Soros. They accused them of targeting PM Modi with the alleged backing of Soros and the US state department.

Further, through its X posts, BJP directly even accused the US state department of being part of the conspiracy since "USAID had given substantial funds to the OCCRP", according to public documents.

However, the US embassy in India in a statement said it was “disappointing” that the ruling party in India was making these kinds of accusations”.

Mediapart’s latest report on the Amsterdam-based OCCRP was based on public documents and filmed interviews given to German broadcaster NDR, by OCCRP founder Drew Sullivan and several senior US officials.

The report said that OCCRP had “accepted several US government donations", which obliges it to spend on investigations into certain countries that Washington considers to be a "priority matter”.

According to the report, the projects funded by the US state department was for investigative reports on countries like Russia, Venezuela, tax havens in Malta and Cyprus, and drug cartels in Mexico. However, Mediapart’s investigation had not referred to any US state department grants for reports on India in any OCCRP report.

Meanwhile, OCCRP had said the claims made in the Mediapart article are “simply wrong”.

“OCCRP has no limits on its journalism and no donor influences our reporting,” the media group stated.

Mediapart has crossed swords with the BJP earlier too in 2018.

The French media outlet had published a series of exclusive investigations alleging crony corruption in the 36 Rafale fighter jet sale to India.

The Indian government and BJP had dismissed the allegations at that time.

In December 2023, Mediapart alleged that the Indian government of "ultra-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi", was not allowing a French probe into the corruption allegations and trying to bury at all costs the corruption case concerning the sale of 36 Dassault-built Rafale fighter jets to India.