A US congressional committee is investigating whether Yahoo intentionally misled Congress over its role in exposing the identity of a Chinese journalist who was sent to prison for a decade.

The House foreign affairs committee announced the probe last week after new documents showed possible discrepancies in Yahoo’s 2006 testimony at a congressional hearing about its co-operation with Chinese authorities in the case against Shi Tao. The Chinese reporter and editor was arrested after posting material on a website about a government crackdown on media and democracy.