October 6, 2023

For immediate release

My name is Jason Pfetcher. I am a lawyer based in the United States. I would like to set the record
straight regarding Worldwide Media Holdings LLC (“WMH”) and an investment made by WMH to PPK
Newsclick Studio Private Limited (“Newsclick”) in India.

I have been an attorney in the United States for over 25 years. For many years, I worked at
ThoughWorks, Inc., an IT consultancy that has a worldwide footprint. I left ThoughtWorks in 2017 when
the company was sold to a British private equity fund, Apax Partners (founded in 1969). I joined
ThoughtWorks’ founder, Neville Roy Singham (“Roy”), to assist him in his efforts to give away most of
the proceeds he received from the sale.

We created a private foundation in the United States called the People’s Support Foundation, Limited
(“PSF”), and I have been a board member since its inception. All funds donated to PSF came from the
sale of ThoughtWorks. PSF has never received funds from a foreign government.

PSF wholly owns and operates WMH, of which I am the manager. WMH is a for-profit investment
vehicle which has made various investments in progressive media projects around the world that
provide people-centered news coverage. While these entities are consistent with PSF’s mission, PSF
seeks a return on the investments we make in them.

Toward the end of 2017, WMH identified Newsclick as an organization that was consistent with WMH’s
purposes and commenced due diligence on a potential investment in Newsclick. As part of this process,
I visited Delhi and hired local counsel, met with Newsclick’s editor and other Newsclick staff, toured its
facilities, and negotiated with Newsclick’s legal counsel. Following the completion of due diligence, the
PSF board determined that it was advisable that WMH invest in Newsclick. That investment was
finalized in March 2018. While I have attended various shareholder meetings of Newsclick on behalf of
WMH, none of the principals of PSF or WMH, including myself, have ever influenced, guided, or directed
the journalistic work of Newsclick.

323 E WACKER DR STE 256 | CHICAGO, IL 60601

The Newsclick investment opportunity came to WMH, in part,
from our relationship with Prabir Purkayastha. I met Prabir
while working at ThoughtWorks; we were fellow employees there for many years. Prabir was, and
remains, highly regarded as a journalist, author, technologist, scientist, researcher, and business person.

In 2021, Newsclick’s offices were raided by India’s Enforcement Directorate, which accused the
organization of money laundering. The Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police subsequently initiated its
own investigation, as did the Revenue Service of India. Over many months, dozens of Newsclick’s
journalists, staff, and other associates, including Prabir and Amit Chakraborty, were interrogated at
length, and some of them multiple times.

When asked, WMH has provided the Indian authorities confirmation regarding the provenance of the
funds invested in Newsclick by WMH. WMH has also provided ample evidence that it is and has always
been in good standing with the state of Delaware where it is incorporated, despite false information
being circulated that WMH was a defunct entity when it invested in Newsclick.

Prabir, along with Amit, have now been arrested and jailed by the Indian government, and Newsclick’s
offices have been sealed. False allegations about the provenance of the funds invested in Newsclick
continue to circulate, despite all the facts WMH has given the Indian authorities. These dire
circumstances compel me to set the record straight.

It appears that much of the basis for this action by the Indian government stems from a slanderous
article that was published by The New York Times on August 5, 2023. Before that article was published,
I responded to the reporters’ questions on behalf of PSF as follows: “PSF has never received any funding,
nor taken direction from any foreign individual, organization, political party, or government (or from any
of their members or representatives).” The New York Times failed to include PSF’s categorical denial of
foreign funding, and instead left readers to believe that the source of PSF’s funding (or Roy’s for that
matter) might have come from China, rather than from the sale of ThoughtWorks. Their salacious
headlines and misleading ‘reporting’ have now directly contributed to the arrest of innocent journalists.

I have been traveling to India and doing business there for nearly 20 years. I recommended this
particular investment without hesitation, eager to see India’s already vibrant media landscape be made
even more so by the growth of a media project eager to give voice to the voiceless. I have always been
highly conscientious about respecting local laws. Therefore, reputable lawyers and law firms were
consulted to ensure that this investment strictly followed all aspects of Indian law, specifically including
those limiting foreign ownership in media companies. Given the repression that is now taking place, it

323 E WACKER DR STE 256 | CHICAGO, IL 60601

begs the question as to whether India is a safe place for
foreign investors who carefully follow Indian law.

Sincerely,

Jason Pfetcher

323 E WACKER DR STE 256 | CHICAGO, IL 60601