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So this morning I went to do my yoga video, and this is the ad I was served before my video started. (thread, obviously).
The ad said "Look how the Epoch times is not fooled by the 'accepted' narrative that COVID-19 came from animals, and going to the 'real' story of its origins! And ISN'T IT A COINCIDENCE that the countries hardest hit are those most infiltrated by the Chinese gov't?" (2/)
So, uh, couple things. First, it's pretty widely known (in the Chinese community, at least?) that the Epoch Times has ties to the Falun Gong. Not a judgement there, just so you know their political views. (3/)
The Falun Gong has been persecuted by the Chinese government, and thus it's no surprise that the Epoch Times is very anti-China. (Again, not making a judgement here; I have my own feelings about all this but that's not the point I want to make right now.) (4/)
So what we have here is an ad by the anti-China Epoch Times, trying to discredit the Chinese government. Okay. What gets me is that they're choosing to do it by espousing racist (and totally false) theories about how COVID-19 is a Chinese conspiracy. (5/)
This isn't the first time the Epoch Times has embraced Trump and the far right. For example: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121
Evidently, this Epoch Times ad is getting a big push on YouTube right now because they recently got booted off Facebook. (5/) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/technology/epoch-times-youtube.html
I am bad at numbering threads, whatever.
What gets me is: the Epoch Times and Falun Gong are so anti-China that they're promoting Trump's racist, false story blaming China for deliberately causing COVID-19. Which is going to fuel more anti-Asian sentiment and attacks on Asian Americans. (6/)
So we've got a Chinese fringe group amplifying the racist president in order to promote anti-China sentiment in the US, and YouTube, longtime enabler of white nationalists and the far right, is running their ad. I... Yeah. Just throw the whole thing away. (7/7)
I am going to mute this thread because I don't need to hear from the pro-Falun Gong/pro-China/anti-China/white nationalist/conspiracy theory/Qanon/etc. contingents today. Or ever really. Just get your shit together, world.
Here's a story about The Epoch Times being distributed, unsolicited, in neighborhoods, and a fact check (should you need it) debunking its far-right claims. https://www.abc10.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/verify-unsolicited-paper-spreads-outlandish-covid-claims/103-9290495e-a501-44fa-b7df-0bb0e385328b
By the way, in case you didn't know, the ubiquitous Shen Yun dance performances are also Falun Gong propaganda (and fundraisers). https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stepping-into-the-uncanny-unsettling-world-of-shen-yun
Chinese fringe group fueling anti-Asian sentiment by promoting false anti-China conspiracy theories is a special kind of own goal. And ultimately, what this supports is white supremacy. Good work, all.
"Media outlets linked to the [Falun Gong] movement are becoming serious players on the conservative side of America’s media, throwing their weight behind Donald Trump and his tough stance on China." https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-21/inside-falun-gong-master-li-hongzhi-the-mountain-dragon-springs/12442518?nw=0
Sometimes the enemy of your enemy is just a different enemy, folks.
Didn't know this part but am not surprised: “The leader of Falun Gong claims that race mixing in humans is part of an alien plot to drive humanity further from the gods... when a child is born from an interracial marriage, that child does not have a heavenly kingdom to go to.”
The quote in the last tweet is from this report on Falun Gong's rise in the US, which is very worth reading. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-21/inside-falun-gong-master-li-hongzhi-the-mountain-dragon-springs/12442518?nw=0
