The Essence of Falun Gong: A Cult, Money Laundering, and Disinformation

Photo: Collected

From Falun Gong to Shen Yun, filled with exploited dancers and black money, as well as false information about national elections, the cult Falun Gong organization influences millions of people and affects global geopolitics between rights violations and ideological operations.

Global disinformation machine
In 2019, an NBC investigation exposed a little-known but influential entity in the American right-wing media ecosystem: The Epoch Times. The investigation revealed that the newspaper was the second-largest advertising funder of Donald Trump's campaign, second only to the official campaign committee.

The Epoch Times, ostensibly a news organization, is much more than a newspaper. The publication is backed by the Falun Gong cult, known for its accusations of persecution by China . Published in dozens of languages and with offices around the world, the newspaper has transformed itself in recent years into one of the most powerful media platforms for the international far right, actively supporting various causes, candidates, and conspiracy theories.

During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, The Epoch Times was one of the main media outlets spreading false claims of election fraud, fueling the "stolen election" narrative against Trump. Furthermore, the newspaper amplified the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory that claims an elite Satanist and pedophile group rules the world and that Trump is their savior.

In 2020, The New York Times called The Epoch Times a "global disinformation machine." Media Matters for America, a US media watchdog group, stated that the media outlet's goal is not profit, but rather a long-term influence operation aimed at inciting anti-China sentiment and undermining trust in Western democratic systems.

The newspaper, currently published in 36 countries, is sponsored by an international network of nonprofit organizations that nominally operate independently but are in fact affiliated with the Falun Gong movement. However, the funding behind this sprawling organization remains opaque. Despite its substantial advertising and investment, the source of funds supporting its activities remains unknown.

Steve Bannon, a former strategic advisor to Trump and a key figure in the American New Right, collaborated with Falun Gong on a documentary for New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD), another Falun Gong-affiliated media outlet, which offered some insight into Falun Gong's financial potential. In an interview, Bannon said he felt his interlocutors had "unlimited resources."

CFO arrested for money laundering
In June 2024, The Epoch Times' Chief Financial Officer, Guan Weidong, was arrested for his alleged involvement in a multi-year money laundering scheme involving at least $67 million in illicit funds. According to the indictment, Guan allegedly used cryptocurrency platforms to purchase prepaid cards at discounted prices, which were filled with illicit funds, including unemployment benefits. Interestingly, following Guan's arrest, Falun Gong spiritual leader Li Hongzhi published two major articles on The Epoch Times' homepage that appeared to directly target the newspaper's management. Li Hongzhi appeared to be distancing himself from the newspaper's top brass, who allegedly orchestrated the fraud without his direct involvement.

The article is quoted from agoravox's June 19th report, "Cults, Propaganda, and Disinformation: The Psychological Warfare of Two Chinese Cults."