Behind the global media empire run by a Chinese sect

Would you pay 25 cents a week for information «that is censored in other media»? For news «without ideology and without opinion»? That is what the Epoch Times is currently advertising in Germany – with some success, it seems.

The Epoch Times sees itself as an «alternative» platform that offers resistance to the mainstream. Its website currently features considerable criticism of the German government’s policies, articles skeptical of vaccines’ efficacy and extensive coverage of the far-right German Alternative for Germany political party, commonly known as the AfD. Between 2015 and 2019, page views on Epoch Times Germany increased tenfold to around 10 million views per month. This is according to the latest figures from the IVW Digital trade association, which assesses website traffic. Compared to the most popular news sites in Germany, this is not much – the popular tabloid Bild had over 560 million views in March, while Der Spiegel was visited 170 million times.

However, the number of Epoch Times users is likely to have risen further since. After all, studies on «alternative media» have shown that these websites receive around 40% of their traffic from social media. The social media following of Epoch Times Germany has grown significantly since 2019: by a factor of 11 on Telegram, and a factor of seven on X (formerly Twitter), as data from the Internet Archive shows. The publication now has over 30,000 followers on both platforms. When asked about the publication’s readership figures, Epoch Times’ editorial department declined to answer.

«Truthfulness, compassion and forbearance»

The Epoch Times is run by a Chinese religious organization: Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa. The movement was founded by Li Hongzhi, known as «Master Li» among his followers, in the early 1990s. At that time, Qigong movements were experiencing great growth, especially in the cities. The millennia-old Chinese practice, which is based on meditation, breathing and movement exercises, filled a spiritual vacuum in communist China.

Falun Gong combined these exercises with a moral philosophy, claiming to advocate truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. In the movement’s philosophy, these traits constitute «the very substance of the universe» – and offer a path to a happy life, according to adherents.

The group grew quickly. According to the Chinese government, it is said to have grown to over 70 million followers by the end of the 1990s. There are no reliable figures on how many practitioners there are today. The nonprofit organization Freedom House estimates that there are between 7 million and 20 million followers worldwide.

In Germany and Switzerland, Falun Gong members have garnered public attention through marches and public stands, where they distribute posters and flyers.

Persecution in China

In the movement’s early days, the Chinese government supported Falun Gong, regarding its exercises as a means of promoting health within the population. Falun Gong was part of an official, state-recognized national qigong association. However, the government soon begin to fear it was losing control of the group. Master Li resisted the growing demands of the Communist Party, and resigned from the official Qigong Association.

The government immediately began to crack down on Falun Gong, banning books by Master Li and arresting individual leaders and followers. In 1999, around 10,000 practitioners protested against this increasing repression by the authorities in front of the government building in Beijing. This was followed by a brutal wave of repression, which continues to this day.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin said he wanted to eradicate the «evil cult.» As U.N. special rapporteurs documented in the years that followed, many of the movement’s followers and their spiritual leaders ended up in prisons or labor camps, where they were allegedly subjected to torture, sexual violence, and even forced organ harvesting. According to several human rights organizations, thousands have died as a result.

From that point on, the spiritual group became a resistance movement opposed to the Chinese government. Those who could, fled abroad. Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi himself had already fled to America in the mid-1990s. In 2000, one year after Falun Gong was banned in China, practitioners founded the newspaper Epoch Times to share Master Li’s teachings with a Western audience – and to campaign against the Chinese government.

Former employees told the New York Times that Li still plays a key role in determining the direction of the Epoch Times. They told NBC that Li had called the Epoch Times «our medium.» His speeches are also published in the German version.

Disguised as a normal online newspaper

But Master Li’s propaganda is well disguised on the site. At first glance, the Epoch Times’ German website looks like a normal online newspaper. It features articles on German and world news, society, cultural subjects, and so on. Many of these articles are from news agencies. The site is updated several times a day, and reflects current events.

However, anyone who studies its content somewhat longer will notice that the Epoch Times repeatedly uses certain narrative patterns. Its comprehensive reporting on China is striking. The website also publishes videos and documentaries on China on a regular basis, with titles such as «Ex-secret agent speaks out: This is how China’s secret police hunt dissidents worldwide.»

Much of the information relating to China is intended to shock, stirring up fears and demonizing the ruling Communist Party. Last December, for instance, when many children in China were suffering from a lung disease, the Epoch Times ran the headline: «Just like four years ago – Beijing covers up mysterious pneumonia.» As with the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, the country’s clinics were on the verge of collapse, the article claimed. It alleged that the authorities were lying about the real virus and covering everything up, and that there was no question that the fatal scenario seen in the pandemic’s early days was repeating itself.

In reality, there was no new, dangerous pathogen circulating, let alone a new pandemic brewing. Instead, the situation was caused by ordinary winter cold viruses and bacteria, coupled with a growing resistance to antibiotics. China’s government informed the WHO promptly.

Yet the Epoch Times devoted three articles to this rumor of a «mysterious» disease in the span of two weeks, and also offered a platform to the organization’s founder, Li Hongzhi, to voice his abstruse theory on the matter. The COVID-19 virus targets the Chinese Communist Party and those who blindly follow the party, he claimed. He warned people to «stay away from the evil party.»

Cult of personality surrounding Master Li

The teachings of Master Li are anything but harmless. «Falun Gong is a guru movement,» says Swiss religious scholar Georg Schmid of Relinfo, an informational center focused on religious movements supported by Protestant and Catholic church organizations. The guru in question is Li Hongzhi – called Master Li by his followers. His followers attribute supernatural healing powers to the 70-year-old man and worship him as a savior. Some Falun Gong practitioners recently told a BBC reporter that they have a portrait of Master Li hanging in their living rooms, and keep his books and writings on their shelves.

While meditation, breathing exercises and exercise have proven health benefits, they are no substitute for a doctor in the event of a serious illness. But that is exactly what some Falun Gong members believe. They believe that Master Li can purify people’s bodies and souls. Falun Gong practice can even cure terminal cancer, a follower claimed in the Epoch Times in February.

According to the religious expert Schmid, other Falun Gong teachings are problematic as well. For instance, Master Li also champions the racist theory that people from different continents should not marry each other because children born of mixed marriages are inferior. Li also takes a critical view of homosexuality. According to a report by the American political magazine The New Republic, writers for the Epoch Times are urged not to report on homosexuality under any circumstances.

Belief in a apocalypse

Matthias Pöhlmann, a cult expert associated with the Lutheran church in Bavaria, also studied Falun Gong in detail while researching his book «Rechte Esoterik» (Right-Wing Esotericism). He says that, according to the movement’s beliefs, humanity has already been wiped out dozens of times. Only a few people survived each time, and have repeatedly created new worlds. Master Li’s teachings say that civilization will soon end once again, and this time only the followers of Falun Gong will be saved, Pöhlmann says.

«They see it as being important for Falun Gong members to convince other people of the truth behind their faith. This is the only way that others can be saved,» says Pöhlmann. This is one of the reasons that Falun Gong followers have founded several media companies that spread Master Li’s message around the world.

Alongside the Epoch Times, this list includes the New Tang Dynasty Television service and numerous YouTube channels. Today, the company operates online portals in 36 countries and in 24 languages.

Spreading rumors about Zelensky

The Epoch Times’ conspiracy theories occasionally aim at targets beyond China as well. Readers are also presented with «alternative facts» on other topics, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. «How wealthy is Zelenskyy really?» an article in the Epoch Times asked in April.

This was followed by a long focus on rumors that Zelenskyy is allegedly hiding luxury yachts and villas from the public. The article’s teaser text even hinted that Zelenskyy could be a billionaire. This narrative has been spread in pro-Russian circles for some time now.

As there is no evidence for such claims, reputable media outlets generally refrain from reporting them. An investigation by the NZZ indicated that Zelenskyy’s alleged yachts and villas were fictitious. This was never made clear in the Epoch Times article.

The Epoch Times’ editorial team declined to answer questions as to why they were spreading rumors about Zelenskyy. A member of the editorial staff responded to the NZZ in writing, saying that the Epoch Times was generally committed to «honest, traditional journalism.» The spokesperson added that the platform also publishes facts and opinions that «contain other points of view with respect to prevailing narratives.»

The publication’s representatives did not answer questions about the company’s financing, links to Falun Gong or the number of employees on staff.

Advertising for dance events in Germany

The extent to which Falun Gong is interwoven with the Epoch Times becomes clear in several articles. In addition serving as an official mouthpiece for Master Li, the platform acts as an official media partner for the Shen Yun dance group and regularly reports on its events. The group, which is also linked to the Falun Gong movement, has two dozen performances scheduled in Germany and Austria in the spring and summer of 2024.

Visitors to these events report that the show stages the suppression of the Falun Gong movement in China. Allegedly, yellow banners with the inscription «Falun Gong is good» also repeatedly appear on the stage during the performances.

«The movement constantly uses its history to gain sympathy in the West,» says Pöhlmann, the cult expert. «But Falun Gong represents an elitist spiritual worldview that spreads conspiracy theories and thus divides democratic society.»

This makes it clear that what may look like a serious media portal is in fact the mouthpiece of a religious sect.

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