On paper, Abhinandan Sekhri presents himself as the face of fearless, independent journalism. As co-founder and CEO of Newslaundry, he has built a brand around holding power accountable.
But a closer look at his professional history, funding sources, and personal associations suggests a far more entangled reality, one that sits at odds with the image he projects.
Sekhri’s flagship outlet has positioned itself as a self-funded, bootstrapped operation. Yet beneath that narrative lies a web of foreign contributions, private grants, political collaborations, and undisclosed ventures that tell a different story.
Omidyar Network and Its Ties
Newslaundry previously received financial support from the Omidyar Network, the investment firm established by eBay creator Pierre Omidyar. In May 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation named Omidyar as an accused party in a case concerning the alleged illegal facilitation of FCRA licence registrations and renewals.
The same Omidyar Network has provided backing to other digital media platforms that frequently publish content critical of the Indian establishment, including The Wire and Scroll, in addition to the now-prohibited Hindutva Watch. Newslaundry, according to the available records, operates within this same circle of funded organisations.
Omidyar has also had public associations with George Soros’s Open Society Foundation. The two have jointly financed journalistic projects and civil society initiatives across multiple countries, with both entities having a documented history of supporting activities in India that have been characterised as attempts to influence political outcomes.
Funds from the Thakur Family Foundation
Sekhri’s primary outlet, Newslaundry, along with his secondary corporate entity, Toque Content Solutions, has received overseas funds from the Thakur Family Foundation.
There is little publicly available information about the nature of Toque Content Solutions, prompting one to believe that it may be structured to route foreign contributions without full disclosure.
The financial trail from the Thakur Family Foundation leads back to the same cluster of media organisations known for their adversarial stance toward the current administration. Several Newslaundry staffers including Ronak Borana, Aryan Mahtta, and Pratyush Kotoky have individually received grants from the same foundation, with some of these payments made directly into their personal bank accounts.
Role of the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation
Newslaundry is also listed as a recipient of support from the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation, which has previously extended grants to other outlets that adopt a similarly critical posture toward the government.
The IPSMF itself has drawn funding from Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, a network that has consistently channelled resources toward left-oriented media houses and civil society groups in India.
Past Collaboration with Arvind Kejriwal
In an earlier phase of his career, Sekhri co-established the Public Cause Research Foundation alongside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The latter utilised his Magsaysay Award prize money to finance the organisation. Notably, Sekhri does not reference this initiative in his official biography on the Newslaundry website.
Podcast Appearance with Dhruv Rathee
Sekhri has also appeared on a podcast hosted by Dhruv Rathee, a prominent YouTuber widely seen as a supporter of Kejriwal’s political party. During that conversation, Sekhri commended Rathee for his approach to source attribution, even though Rathee has faced repeated accusations of disseminating unverified information and advancing narratives that are hostile to the ruling dispensation.
Remarks on Election Machinery
In one of his podcast appearances, Sekhri described the Election Commission of India as functioning in a “disgraceful manner” and challenged the validity of the Special Summary Revision exercise for electoral rolls.
11. Sekhri in a podcast stated the Election Commission is working in a “disgraceful manner” and that the SIR electoral roll exercise is wrong. Classic left playbook. pic.twitter.com/dVZtUQd14o
— Brown Sepoys (@BrownSepoys) August 8, 2026
His language in that instance mirrored the standard talking points of the opposition bloc.
Admiration for Bill Maher
Sekhri has also openly expressed admiration for American comedian Bill Maher, who made a public claim on his show that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “lost the 2024 elections big time.”
12. Sekhri is a self-declared fan of Bill Maher, the American comedian who claimed on his show that “Modi just lost the 2024 elections big time.”
Sekhri had to be his fan because anyone is a friend who runs an anti-government agenda. pic.twitter.com/7gKAUj82Ty
— Brown Sepoys (@BrownSepoys) August 8, 2026
Sekhri’s affinity for Maher, observers note, fits a pattern of aligning with figures who consistently project an anti-government outlook.
Editorial Support For Rape Convict Tarun Tejpal
The editorial conduct of Newslaundry has also drawn attention in connection with Tarun Tejpal, a former magazine editor convicted of sexually assaulting a junior colleague. Sekhri’s sister authored a piece on the Newslaundry platform that questioned the credibility of the complainant and defended Tejpal, even referring to the victim with a dismissive label.
He called this victim shaming article a ‘counter perspective’ on rape.
That article was removed from the website only recently, twelve years after its original publication.
Allegations of Internal Misconduct
Separately, former women employees of Newslaundry have publicly spoken about incidents of sexual harassment and misogynistic behaviour from male colleagues.
These disclosures stand in stark contrast to the progressive values that the organisation claims to champion, exposing a troubling gap between its public advocacy and its internal workplace culture.
Contradiction in Sekhri’s Own Words
In a published note titled “Our Position on Newslaundry,” Sekhri asserted that the organisation operates as “unpaid media with no source of funding.”
That statement appears difficult to reconcile with the multiple documented streams of foreign contributions and individual grants received by both the company and its journalists.
Conclusion
From opaque overseas contributions to undisclosed business entities and political partnerships with Kejriwal-backed initiatives, the financial and personal affiliations of Abhinandan Sekhri present a complicated picture.
His repeated claims of editorial independence are undercut by a support structure that, on closer inspection, ties him to a well-funded network with a clear ideological bent and a track record of opposing the Indian government.
This article is based on an X thread by Brown Sepoys.
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