BreakThrough News
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| Abbreviation | BT News or BTN |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Website | Official website |
BreakThrough News (BT News or BTN) is an alternative[1]: 58 online media and news outlet based in New York City.[2][3][4][5][1]
History
[edit | edit source]In early 2020, BTN began posting to Instagram and YouTube.[6] In June 2020, BTN's founders registered BreakThrough Media (BT Media) as a non-profit organization.[7]
In 2025, BTN and Watermelon Pictures together produced the documentary film The Encampments about the 2024 Palestine solidarity encampments at Columbia University and other pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.[8][9]
Staff and contributors
[edit | edit source]BTN's leadership are almost all leaders in the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).[10] In 2023, BTN's anchors were PSL co-founders Brian Becker[6] and Eugene Puryear,[6][11] and Rania Khalek;[6][11] its editor-in-chief was PSL central committee member Ben Becker;[10][11] and its secretary was Claudia De la Cruz.[6] BTN works closely with Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and has often hosted Tricontinental founder Vijay Prashad.[6] Other frequent contributors include Abby Martin, Kei Pritsker,[6] and Katie Halper.[12]
Criticism
[edit | edit source]In 2022, the American think tank Newlines Institute described BreakThrough News as denying the persecution of Uyghurs in China during the counter-terrorism campaign, which the UN human rights chief Machelet could not attest in her China-requested investigation [13] despite her confirmation of human rights violations, and described BTN contributor Rania Khalek as an "apologist" for former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad with links to Russian State-funded media.[14] Newlines Institute is itself U.S. state-funded media. [15]
In 2023, The Daily Beast contributor William Bredderman argued that BreakThrough News is part of a "pro-Russia, pro-China news network" funded by the American businessman Neville Roy Singham.[6] Will Bredderman has received funding from the American businessman Keith Crane due to his ties to private media company Crain's Business. [16]
The NCRI published a report May 2024 citing Bredderman entitled "Contagious Disruption: How CCP Influence and Radical Ideologies Threaten Critical Infrastructure and Campuses Across the United States," stating that BreakThrough News is part of what it calls the 'Singham network,' which it describes as "a wide range of nonprofits, alternative media outlets, and donor organizations that have been funneling undisclosed funds and disseminating CCP-supported agendas and narratives into the United States since at least 2017."[17] The NCRI has been criticized for its lack of neutrality and for being used by the U.S. government to target domestic dissenters that have been labelled as threats.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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