Inside the secretive media outlet that became one of Trump's biggest supporters

王也

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/USW-Inside-the-Secretive-Media-Outlet-That-Became-One-of-Trumps-Biggest-Supporters-556261201.html

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By the numbers, there is no bigger advocate of President Donald Trump on Facebook than The Epoch Times. The small New York-based nonprofit news outlet has spent more than $1.5 million on about 11,000 pro-Trump advertisements in the last six months, according to data from Facebook’s advertising archive — more than any organization outside of the Trump campaign itself, and more than most Democratic presidential candidates have spent on their own campaigns, NBC News reported.
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' u( S- ]; `7 M3 pThose video ads — in which unidentified spokespeople thumb through a newspaper to praise Trump, peddle conspiracy theories about the “Deep State,” and criticize “fake news” media — strike a familiar tone in the online conservative news ecosystem. The Epoch Times looks like many of the conservative outlets that have gained followings in recent years. But it isn’t.

4 v7 G4 l, u, l! w$ {Behind the scenes, the media outlet’s ownership and operation is closely tied to Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual community with the stated goal of taking down China’s government. It's also linked to Shen Yun a dance troupe known for its ubiquitous advertising and unsettling performances.
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$ ?: W8 _1 {, C8 n- _& g6 P- Q Former practitioners of Falun Gong told NBC News that believers think the world is hears of Falun Gong told NBC News that believers think the world is headed toward a judgment day, where those labeled “communists” will be sent to a kind of hell, and those sympathetic to the spiritual community will be spared. Trump is viewed as a key ally in the anti-communist fight, former Epoch Times employees said.

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