Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire (Falun Gong-aligned)
Falun Gong-aligned media empire including Epoch Times, NTD, Shen Yun, and The Dissident. Documented misinformation and political-partisan campaigning.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — Falun Gong-aligned media empire; documented misinformation and political-partisan campaigning.
Profile facts
In context
This entry covers the Epoch Media Group organisational network — The Epoch Times newspaper, New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television, and the Shen Yun performing-arts company — as a media and fundraising apparatus, deliberately scoped to the network's media and fundraising conduct rather than Falun Gong's own internal spiritual practices, which this catalogue does not currently profile in a standalone entry. The CCP's persecution of Falun Gong inside China is real, severe, and well documented, and is the founders' own stated motivation for starting the network in 2000; it is noted here only as context for why the network exists, not as evidence for this entry's own scores, which describe the network's documented conduct.
Financial ties and monetised devotion are extensively reported. By NBC News's 2019 characterisation, Epoch Media Group and Shen Yun together "make up the outreach effort" of Falun Gong, and founder Li Hongzhi has called the network "our media." Former employees told reporters senior editors travelled to meet Li at Falun Gong's Dragon Springs compound, where he weighed in on editorial decisions (The Epoch Times denies this). By 2024, Shen Yun had accumulated an estimated $266 million in assets, built substantially on ticket sales, volunteer labour, and adherents' personal savings; a 2015 incident saw performers carry $10,000 cash back from a Spain tour and surrender it to management, and 2024 New York Times reporting found many practitioners considered performing a "sacred honor" tied to Li's teachings. This is "jargon-gated identity, monetised devotion" in organisational form.
Scrutiny intensified through 2024-2026. In June 2024, Epoch Times CFO Weidong "Bill" Guan was indicted on money-laundering charges; Li subsequently urged adherents not to attack politicians of either party, read by press as a defensive rebrand. In November 2024, following Times reporting, New York's Department of Labor opened an inquiry into Shen Yun's labour practices, and a former dancer sued the organisation, Li, and others alleging children faced long hours and harsh conditions; Shen Yun denied this and organized a rebuttal petition signed by current and former performers and their families. In February 2025, the Times reported federal authorities were criminally investigating Shen Yun, partly over suspected visa fraud. A 2026 Radio France Internationale investigation of former dancers reported allegations of pressure to treat injury as a test of faith, with performers describing discouragement from Western medicine in terms tied to "karmic debt" and disappointing Li. These are reported allegations and ongoing proceedings, not adjudicated findings.
Status: the network remains large and active — 33 country editions (21 languages), continued Shen Yun world tours, a 2025 award for the Times's religion coverage — while facing federal criminal exposure (the Guan indictment, the visa-fraud investigation) and labour scrutiny that emerged specifically in this 2024-2026 window.
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
- Reclamation Collective — Religious-trauma-aware therapist network; relevant for post-exit identity-rebuilding.
- Religious Trauma Institute — Religious-trauma clinical research and clinician directory (Marlene Winell tradition).
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Legal cases & controversies
- 2024 Guan money-laundering indictment
Evidence by BITE axis
- Documented misinformation campaigns
- 2024 CFO money-laundering indictment
- Parent Falun Gong religious movement context
- documented misinformation and political-partisan campaigning
Timeline
- 2000Epoch Times founded
- 2024CFO Guan indicted for $67M money laundering
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
US nonprofit filings
IRS Form 990 data for associated US entities, via ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer. Registration and figures are matters of public record, not findings of wrongdoing.
- Epoch Times Association Inc (EIN 22-3848589 · New York, NY)
- 2022: revenue $128.0M · expenses $127.6M · assets $36.7M
- 2021: revenue $121.5M · expenses $96.3M · assets $35.1M
- 2020: revenue $70.6M · expenses $57.7M · assets $14.2M
Retrieved 2026-08-22.
Sources
- NYT 2020 investigation search ↗
- DOJ Guan indictment 2024 search ↗
- Wikipedia: The Epoch Times (accessed 2026-08) — NBC News 2019 characterisation, Dragon Springs reporting, Guan indictment, Li Hongzhi statement search ↗
- Wikipedia: Shen Yun (accessed 2026-08) — $266M assets by 2024, 2015 Spain cash incident, November 2024 NY Dept of Labor inquiry and dancer lawsuit, February 2025 NYT visa-fraud investigation report, 2026 RFI investigation search ↗
- New York Times (2015, 2024) reporting on Shen Yun finances and labour practices search ↗
- DOJ indictment, United States v. Weidong Guan (2024) search ↗
- Conceptualizing “Dark Platforms”. Covid-19-Related Conspiracy Theories on 8kun and Gab — Digital Journalism (2021) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F21670811.2021.1938165 open ↗
- E-extremism: A conceptual framework for studying the online far right — https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14614448221098360 open ↗
- E-extremism: A conceptual framework for studying the online far right — New Media & Society (2022) — https://doi.org/10.1177%2F14614448221098360 open ↗
- 2. January 6, 2021: Capitol Hill, the Failed Insurrection — Pastels and Pedophiles (2021) — https://doi.org/10.1515%2F9781503630611-003 open ↗
- Neue Wahrheiten von rechts außen? Alternative Nachrichten und der „Rechtspopulismus“ in Deutschland — Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen (2020) — https://doi.org/10.1515%2Ffjsb-2020-0040 open ↗
- Steve Bannon's Kali-Yuga — Understanding and Countering Fascist Movements (2023) — https://doi.org/10.4324%2F9781003031604-4 open ↗
- Comparing Frame Repertoires of Mainstream and Right-Wing Alternative Media — https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2022.2048186 open ↗
- Comparing Frame Repertoires of Mainstream and Right-Wing Alternative Media — Digital Journalism (2022) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F21670811.2022.2048186 open ↗
- Mapping Emerging and Legacy Outlets Online by Their Democratic Functions—Agonistic, Deliberative, or Corrosive? — https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19401612211015077 open ↗
- Mapping Emerging and Legacy Outlets Online by Their Democratic Functions—Agonistic, Deliberative, or Corrosive? — The International Journal of Press/Politics (2021) — https://doi.org/10.1177%2F19401612211015077 open ↗
- How many people use alternative media in Germany and how can we measure it? — Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media (2024) — https://doi.org/10.51685%2Fjqd.2024.016 open ↗
- Defending "Western" Values: Reactionary Neoliberalism in the Americas — https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol23/iss1/7/ open ↗
- Defending “Western” Values: Reactionary Neoliberalism in the Americas — CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture (2021) — https://doi.org/10.7771%2F1481-4374.4016 open ↗
- The odd timing of Trump attorney John Eastman's claim of a 'heated fight' at the Supreme Court — https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/16/odd-timing-john-eastmans-claim-heated-fight-scotus/ open ↗
- GOP recall candidate Elder releases details on finances — https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-9eabe671bf61ffbad6d1b3439de9f0bf open ↗
- Epoch Times Reporter Resigns After Publication Signs Pentagon Rules — https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/business/media/epoch-times-pentagon-press-rules.html open ↗
- US conservative media outlet's ties to Chinese spiritual movement put in spotlight — https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/20/us-conservative-media-outlets-ties-chinese-spiritual-movement/ open ↗
- How the conspiracy-fueled Epoch Times went mainstream and made millions — https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/epoch-times-falun-gong-growth-rcna111373 open ↗
- Facebook bans ads from the Epoch Times for violating transparency policies with pro-Trump ads — https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/08/23/facebook-bans-ads-epoch-times-violating-transparency-policies-with-pro-trump-ads/ open ↗
- Epoch Times, the conspiratorial pro-Trump outlet, enters a new market: Faith-based movies — https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/epoch-studios-faith-movie-firing-squad-rcna158822 open ↗
- Trump, QAnon and an impending judgment day: Behind the Facebook-fueled rise of The Epoch Times — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121 open ↗
- Dissident media linked to Falun Gong / Chinese-language print, broadcast outlets in U.S. are making waves — https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/CULTURE-AND-RELIGION-Dissident-media-linked-to-2587555.php open ↗
- Falun Gong-aligned media push fake news about Democrats and Chinese communists — https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/30/falun-gong-media-epoch-times-democrats-chinese-communists open ↗
- How The Epoch Times Created a Giant Influence Machine — https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html open ↗
- MAGA-land's Favorite Newspaper — https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/inside-the-epoch-times-a-mysterious-pro-trump-newspaper/617645/ open ↗
- A Newspaper Banned In China Is Now One Of Trump's Biggest Defenders — https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hayesbrown/epoch-times-trump-administration-falun-gong open ↗
- Stepping Into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun — https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stepping-into-the-uncanny-unsettling-world-of-shen-yun open ↗
- China’s Mixed Effectiveness — Beijing's Global Media Offensive (2023) — https://doi.org/10.1093%2Foso%2F9780197515761.003.0011 open ↗
- Facebook Bans Ads From The Epoch Times — https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/technology/facebook-ads-epoch-times.html open ↗
- The battle in miniature — https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/10/10/the-battle-in-miniature open ↗
- Lengthy video makes false claims about 2020 election — https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-afs:Content:9900544617 open ↗
- David Meets Goliath: The Conflict between Falun Gong and the Chinese State — https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195329056.003.0006 open ↗
- David Meets Goliath — Falun Gong and the Future of China (2008) — https://doi.org/10.1093%2Facprof%3Aoso%2F9780195329056.003.0006 open ↗
- Paper denies representing Falun Gong — https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500185_pf.html open ↗
- Epoch Times, Punished by Facebook, Gets a New Megaphone on YouTube — https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/technology/epoch-times-youtube.html open ↗
- Shen Yun Needed Publicity. The Epoch Times Wrote 17,000 Articles — https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/30/nyregion/shen-yun-epoch-times-falun-gong.html open ↗
- Falun Gong Fields Media Weapons — https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB108190438992282143 open ↗
- White House reviews incident involving _The Epoch Times_ photographer handing a folder to Trump — https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-reviews-incident-involving-epoch-times-photographer-handing-a-folder-to-trump/2018/09/18/e9d8b8ba-bac5-11e8-bdc0-90f81cc58c5d_story.html open ↗
- This NBC executive became a conspiracy king and a pro-Trump media boss — https://www.thedailybeast.com/nbc-executive-chris-kitze-became-a-boss-at-epoch-times-pro-trump-outlet open ↗
- The Hedge Fund Man Behind Pro-Trump Media's New War on China — https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-hedge-fund-man-behind-pro-trump-medias-new-war-on-china open ↗
- DoJ accuses far-right Epoch Times of being money-laundering operation — https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/03/epoch-times-money-laundering-crypto-justice-department open ↗
- The Epoch Times CFO charged with $67m money laundering scheme — https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg66xe59zyeo open ↗
- How a pro-Trump media outlet allegedly funneled tens of millions in an illicit money laundering scheme — https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/media/pro-trump-epoch-times-money-laundering-charge open ↗
- Money laundering charges raise questions about the direction of The Epoch Times — https://www.npr.org/2024/06/13/nx-s1-5005297/epoch-times-turmoil-money-laundering open ↗
- Ex-Epoch Times CFO pleads guilty in $67M multinational money laundering scheme — https://apnews.com/article/epoch-times-cfo-indictment-money-laundering-a015b35aaeae44284f0026dc10395acc open ↗
- The Epoch Times, ce mystérieux média sino-américain distribué aux anti-passe sanitaire — https://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/the-epoch-times-ce-mysterieux-media-sino-americain-distribue-aux-anti-passe-sanitaire-20210813 open ↗
- Facebook says post that cast doubt on covid-19 vaccine was most popular on the platform from January through March — https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/21/facebook-coronavirus-vaccine/ open ↗
- Facebook steps up fight against climate misinformation – but critics say effort falls short — https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/16/facebook-climate-change-misinformation open ↗
- This Pro-Trump YouTube Network Sprang Up Just After He Lost — https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/epoch-times-trump-you-tube open ↗
- Facebook says a pro-Trump media outlet used artificial intelligence to create fake people and push conspiracies — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-says-pro-trump-media-outlet-used-artificial-intelligence-create-n1105951 open ↗
- Epoch Times Executive Accused of Laundering $67 Million — https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/03/us/politics/epoch-times-money-laundering-doj.html open ↗
- Checking the Web on Hunter Biden? A 36-year-old physicist helps decide what you'll see — https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/checking-the-web-on-hunter-biden-a-36-year-old-physicist-helps-decide-what-youll-see/2019/09/25/16573a1e-df9c-11e9-be96-6adb81821e90_story.html open ↗
- Wake-up call': Iowa caucus disinformation serves as warning about 2020 election — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/wake-call-iowa-caucus-disinformation-serves-warning-about-2020-election-n1130111 open ↗
- Rightwing groups spread false information about voter rolls hours before Iowa caucuses — https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/03/judicial-watch-misinformation-iowa-caucus-voters open ↗
- Debunked claims about Iowa voter fraud pushed by conservative activists — https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/live-blog/iowa-caucuses-live-updates-2020-democrats-make-their-final-pitches-n1128596/ncrd1128966 open ↗
- Iowa Misinformation Spreads Online, Despite New Policies — https://www.wired.com/story/iowa-misinformation-spreads-online-despite-new-policies/ open ↗
- Some Canadians who received unsolicited copy of Epoch Times upset by claim that China was behind virus — https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/epoch-times-coronavirus-bioweapon-1.5548217 open ↗
- Scientists Haven't Found Proof The Coronavirus Escaped From A Lab In Wuhan. Trump Supporters Are Spreading The Rumor Anyway — https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/coronavirus-rumors-escape-lab-china-fox-news-trump open ↗
- The Trailer: Whatever happened to Medicare-for-all? — https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/22/trailer-whatever-happened-medicare-for-all/ open ↗
- Facebook Discovers Fakes That Show Evolution of Disinformation — https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/business/facebook-ai-generated-profiles.html?ribbon-ad-idx=2&rref=business open ↗
- Facebook removes troll farm posing as African-American support for Donald Trump — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-removes-troll-farm-posing-african-american-support-donald-trump-n1236056 open ↗
- The 'patriotic education' of Chinese students at Australian universities — https://www.smh.com.au/education/the-patriotic-education-of-chinese-students-at-australian-universities-20161003-gru13j.html open ↗
- Epoch Times defiant after Hong Kong printing press ransacked — https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210413-epoch-times-defiant-after-hong-kong-printing-press-ransacked open ↗
- Reporter with Epoch Times attacked with baseball bat in Hong Kong — https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3133059/hong-kong-reporter-epoch-times-newspaper-attacked open ↗
- Epoch Times media outlet to suspend print edition in Hong Kong — https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3277563/epoch-times-media-outlet-suspend-print-edition-hong-kong open ↗
- Protester disrupts Hu speech at White House — https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12406046 open ↗
- Two sites that amplify hoaxes given special treatment at Trump's briefings despite restrictions — https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/two-sites-that-amplify-hoaxes-given-special-treatment-at-trumps-briefings-despite-restrictions/2020/08/14/8579032e-de6e-11ea-809e-b8be57ba616e_story.html open ↗
- Beijing's Policies for Managing Han and Ethnic-Minority Chinese Communities Abroad — https://doi.org/10.1177%2F186810261204100407 open ↗
- Becoming Activists in Global China — https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/becoming-activists-in-global-china/becoming-activists-in-global-china/85EB2B37633826E84648959601764C7B open ↗
- Why Wikipedia is Much More Effective Than Facebook at Fighting Fake News — https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2020-01-09/ty-article/.premium/why-wikipedia-is-much-more-effective-than-facebook-at-fighting-fake-news/0000017f-e959-d639-af7f-e9df233d0000 open ↗
- Lengthy video makes false claims about 2020 election — https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-9900544617 open ↗
- Falun Gong, Ten Years On: Review Article — Pacific Affairs (2010) — https://dx.doi.org/10.5509%2F2010832349 open ↗
- Beijing's Policies for Managing Han and Ethnic-Minority Chinese Communities Abroad — Journal of Current Chinese Affairs (2012) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F186810261204100407 open ↗
- Why Wikipedia is Much More Effective Than Facebook at Fighting Fake News — https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-why-wikipedia-is-much-more-effective-than-facebook-at-fighting-fake-news-1.8378622 open ↗
- Neue Wahrheiten von rechts außen? Alternative Nachrichten und der „Rechtspopulismus“ in Deutschland — Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen (2020) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1515%2Ffjsb-2020-0040 open ↗
- Virus Conspiracists Elevate a New Champion — https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/09/technology/plandemic-judy-mikovitz-coronavirus-disinformation.html open ↗
- A 'loud mouth' writer says the White House broke its own briefing-room rules. So he did the same. — https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/a-loud-mouth-writer-says-the-white-house-broke-its-own-briefing-room-rules-so-he-did-the-same/2020/08/20/1d5441b8-e25c-11ea-8181-606e603bb1c4_story.html open ↗
- Bannon Teams Up With Chinese Group That Thinks Trump Will Bring on End-Times — https://www.thedailybeast.com/bannon-teams-up-with-chinese-group-that-thinks-trump-will-bring-on-end-times open ↗
- lire en ligne — https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/06/13/China%20and%20Falun%20Gong.pdf open ↗
- Facebook bans ads from The Epoch Times after huge pro-Trump buy — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/epoch-times-begins-hiding-its-connection-huge-pro-trump-ad-n1045416 open ↗
- Facebook Removes Accounts With AI-Generated Profile Photos — https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-removes-accounts-ai-generated-photos/ open ↗
- Facebook bans pro-Trump media outlet over fake accounts — https://www.ft.com/content/182b7b9a-235b-11ea-b8a1-584213ee7b2b open ↗
- „Epoch Times“: Eine stetige Quelle der Wut_. — https://www.zeit.de/2017/38/epoch-times-afd-alternativmedium open ↗
- Für Trump, gegen das Impfen: Wer steckt hinter der „Epoch Times“? — https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/epoch-times-was-steckt-hinter-dem-phaenomen-der-zeitung-17248966.html open ↗
- Epoch Times, pro-Trump Falun Gong news outlet, banned from buying Facebook ads. — https://www.salon.com/2019/08/24/epoch-times-pro-trump-falun-gong-news-outlet-banned-from-buying-ads-on-facebook/ open ↗
- Chief Financial Officer Of Multinational Media Company Charged With Participating In Scheme To Launder At Least $67 Million In Fraud Proceeds. — https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/chief-financial-officer-multinational-media-company-charged-participating-scheme open ↗
- “The traditional Chinese dance troupe China doesn't want you to see” — https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/12/shen-yun-falun-gong-traditional-chinese-dance-troupe-china-doesnt-want-you-to-see open ↗
- “Those Cute Cats Online? They Help Spread Misinformation.” — https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/technology/misinformation-cute-cats-online.html open ↗
- China’s Mixed Effectiveness — Beijing's Global Media Offensive (2023) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Foso%2F9780197515761.003.0011 open ↗
- 〈David Meets Goliath: The Conflict between Falun Gong and the Chinese State〉 — https://academic.oup.com/book/36117/chapter-abstract/313612029?redirectedFrom=fulltext open ↗
- David Meets Goliath — Falun Gong and the Future of China (2008) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Facprof%3Aoso%2F9780195329056.003.0006 open ↗
- 《The dark side of entertainment? How viral entertaining media build an attention base for the far-right politics of The Epoch Times》 — https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14614448231205893 open ↗
- The dark side of entertainment? How viral entertaining media build an attention base for the far-right politics of The Epoch Times — New Media & Society (2023) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F14614448231205893 open ↗
- “Falun Gong in China: Review and Update” — http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg78599/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg78599.pdf open ↗
- “Debunked claims about Iowa voter fraud pushed by conservative activists” — https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/live-blog/iowa-caucuses-live-updates-2020-democrats-make-their-final-pitches-n1130111/ncrd1128966 open ↗
- “Becoming Activists in Global China” — https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/becoming-activists-in-global-china/becoming-activists-in-global-china/85EB2B37633826E84648959601764C7B open ↗
- Conceptualizing “Dark Platforms”. Covid-19-Related Conspiracy Theories on 8kun and Gab — Digital Journalism (2021) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F21670811.2021.1938165 open ↗
- E-extremism: A conceptual framework for studying the online far right — New Media & Society (2022) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F14614448221098360 open ↗
- 2. January 6, 2021: Capitol Hill, the Failed Insurrection — Pastels and Pedophiles (2021) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1515%2F9781503630611-003 open ↗
- Steve Bannon's Kali-Yuga — Understanding and Countering Fascist Movements (2023) — https://dx.doi.org/10.4324%2F9781003031604-4 open ↗
- “Trump, QAnon and an impending judgment day: Behind the Facebook-fueled rise of The Epoch Times” — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/n1044121 open ↗
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2021.1938165 — https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2021.1938165 open ↗
- Summary: H.Res.343 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)All Information (Except Text) Listen — https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/343 open ↗
- “Facebook removes troll farm posing as African-American support for Donald Trump” — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/n1236056 open ↗
- Most-clicked link on Facebook spread doubt about Covid vaccine — https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/most-clicked-link-on-facebook-spread-doubt-about-covid-vaccine-flknpp9n5 open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-08-31Body expanded from stub (thin-content programme)
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: NRM high-control.
- 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: court records, investigative journalism. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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Frequently asked questions
Q.Is Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire a cult?
CLCI Hub deliberately avoids the binary label "cult." Instead it places groups on a transparent 0–40 spectrum of documented control using Steven Hassan's BITE model (Behaviour, Information, Thought, Emotional). Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire scores 25 out of 40 — "High Control", at high confidence. The score describes documented control patterns, not a judgement of members' sincerity or beliefs; many members do not personally experience the patterns listed.
Q.What is Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire's CLCI score?
Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire scores 25 out of 40 on the Cult-Like Control Index, which falls in the "High" band. That total is the sum of four BITE axes — Behaviour 5, Information 8, Thought 7, Emotional 5 — plus a signed modifier of +0 for aggravating or mitigating factors.
Q.Why does Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire score 25 on the CLCI?
The score reflects publicly documented patterns including: Documented misinformation campaigns; 2024 CFO money-laundering indictment; Parent Falun Gong religious movement context. These map onto the BITE axes of behaviour, information, thought, and emotional control, and a signed modifier of +0 is applied for factors such as financial demands, leadership accountability, and exit costs. Every claim is backed by the citations in the Sources section on this page.
Q.How reliable is the Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire rating?
This profile is rated High confidence. High confidence means the score is backed by court records, academic work, and/or sustained investigative journalism. CLCI scores are not fixed — they are revised whenever new public evidence appears, and groups that reform can score lower over time.
Q.Where can I get help regarding Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire?
If you or someone you care about is affected by Epoch Times / NTD / Shen Yun media empire, start with the Recovery resources listed on this page. General cult-aware support is available from the International Cultic Studies Association (icsahome.com) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (freedomofmind.com). CLCI Hub is an educational resource, not a crisis service — if anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.