The Epoch Times

The Epoch Times is a far-right international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement. The newspaper, based in New York City, is part of the Epoch Media Group, which also operates New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television. The Epoch Times has websites in 35 countries but is blocked in mainland China. The Epoch Times opposes the Chinese Communist Party, platforms far-right politicians in Europe, and has supported former President Donald Trump in the U.S.; a 2019 report by NBC News showed it to be the second-largest funder of pro-Trump Facebook advertising after the Trump campaign itself. The Epoch Times frequently runs stories promoting other Falun Gong-affiliated groups, such as the performing arts company Shen Yun. The Epoch Media Group's news sites and YouTube channels have promoted conspiracy theories such as QAnon, anti-vaccine misinformation and false claims of fraud in the 2020 United States presidential election. History and relation to Falun Gong The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 by John Tang and other Chinese Americans affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement. Tang was a graduate student in Georgia at the time; he began the newspaper in his basement. The founders said they were responding to censorship inside China and a lack of international understanding about the Chinese government's repression of Falun Gong. By 2003, The Epoch Times website and group of newspapers had grown into one of the largest Chinese-language news sites and newspaper groups outside China, with local editions in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and major Western European countries. The first English edition launched online in September 2003, followed by the first print edition in 2004. The English Australian edition was launched in Sydney in 2005.