Epoch Times - 2 friends say it's a reliable news source. How to respond?

[SharonAnn]

[Historic NY]

1. NO

[leftieNanner]

2. It was started by the guy from

Falun Gong. Sketchy with an odd perspective. Not a legit source.

[kerouac2]

3. Find two new friends

I mean seriously...

[enid602]

4. Fundies

From Wikipedia: The Epoch Times is a far-right[1] international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement.[9][10][11][12] The newspaper, based in New York City, is part of the Epoch Media Group, which also operates New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television.[13] The Epoch Times has websites in 35 countries but is blocked in mainland China.[14]

[WarGamer]

5. show them this

[sl8]

19. That makes them look pretty good, compared to what Media Bias / Fact Check says about them.

Allsides says they "Lean Right" and says nothing about their credibility. Heck, we get articles posted here all the time, as straight news, that come from sources they rate as further left than "Lean Left" (Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, etc.).

Media Bias / Fact Check is far less generous with their rating of Epoch Times:

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-epoch-times/

Overall, we rate The Epoch Times Right Biased and Questionable based on the publication of pseudoscience and the promotion of propaganda and conspiracy theories, as well as numerous failed fact checks.

Detailed Report

Questionable Reasoning: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, Propaganda, Fake News, Failed Fact Checks
Bias Rating: RIGHT (6.4)
Factual Reporting: MIXED (6.4)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Newspaper
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY

[...]

[jmowreader]

32. "Leans" right?

If the political news landscape was T-Mobile Park and One America News Network was the right field foul pole, the Epoch Times is somewhere between the right field dugout and the pier the Coast Guard parks icebreakers at. That book is OUT THERE! If the Epoch Times just “leans right” I shiver to think of what those guys think is really far to the right.

[magicarpet]

6. It is bullshit,... that ought to get the conversation rolling.

The Epoch Times,

The Epoch Times is a far-right[1] international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement.[9][10][11][12] The newspaper, based in New York City, is part of the Epoch Media Group, which also operates New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television.[13] The Epoch Times has websites in 35 countries but is blocked in mainland China.[14]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times

[magicarpet]

8. They might like Prager University too.

PragerU, Creator of Controversial Social Studies Videos, Now Has a Toehold in Schools

By Sarah Schwartz — August 31, 2023 8 min read
Dennis Prager attends Politicon at The Pasadena Convention Center on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Pasadena, Calif.
Dennis Prager attends Politicon at The Pasadena Convention Center on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Pasadena, Calif.
Colin Young-Wolff/Invision via AP


As the school year starts, a controversial set of social studies materials are making headlines: videos from the conservative media company PragerU.

The company, which describes itself as an “educational media platform dedicated to promoting pro-American values,” creates free, online videos for children that cover a range of history, civics, and science topics. Some have hundreds of thousands of views.

The materials came under fire after the Florida Department of Education approved them in July for use in classrooms as supplemental resources. PragerU leaders say that the channel provides an alternative perspective to what they see as liberal biases in schools and universities.

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/prageru-creator-of-controversial-social-studies-videos-now-has-a-toehold-in-schools/2023/08

[Norrrm]

11. Dennis Prager: What's Wrong With Masturbating To Child Porn?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017854024#post1

Dennis Prager: What's Wrong With Masturbating To Child Porn?

Florida approves whitewashed school curriculum - American Voices - MSNBC
------------------------------------
3814 https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218181391

The PragerU goal: "Indoctrinate kids at a young age into a far-right belief system"
"far-right belief system"

Christian moral lessons from Dennis Prager... Masturbating To Animated Child Porn

Dennis Prager: What's Wrong With Masturbating To Child Porn?

This is the guy providing “educational resources” to Florida’s children.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218172133

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017854024

Apparently, a pedophiliac is A-OK at PragerU, so long as you’re a conservative. Good to know.

https://crooksandliars.com/2023/08/dennis-prager-whats-wrong-masturbating

[RockRaven]

7. They are incorrect. It is a deeply unreliable source operated by a cult.

If you can, get them to read the Wikipedia page for Falun Gong.

[Eugene]

9. Epoch Times is an advocacy organ of Falun Gong. Wikipedia says it often publishes conspiracy theories as facts.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Perennial_sources#The_Epoch_Times

Pro-Trump with an ultra-hard line against the People's Republic of China.

[Wounded Bear]

10. Uncontrolled laughter comes to mind...

[TexasTowelie]

12. Drop to the floor

and roll in laughter!

[k_buddy762]

13. I read it

While I no longer watch corporate news, I do read numerous sources online, and I like to read stuff on both sides. I like getting both perspectives, and I find that the actual truth is usually not what the rightwing rag is printing, not what the leftwing rag is printing, but somewhere in between the two.

[canetoad]

20. All that straddlin'

Does it hurt?

[k_buddy762]

31. Not even a little bit

Balance feels great.

[maxsolomon]

34. Name one "Leftwing Rag" you read.

[k_buddy762]

36. BBC, Guardian, Mother Jones

[maxsolomon]

37. The British Broadcasting Corporation is Left Wing?

You're very generous with your description of "Left".

[mahina]

14. What is your goal in the conversation?

Mine would be to talk about how you can tell truth from bullshit and how we know what we know or rather what we think we know. There’s a New Page out there trying to stride the rational divide, I don’t remember what it’s called right at the moment, though I subscribed and in it, you can check articles for how it’s covered. All you have to do is read one issue of the epic times, and if you are a rational person, you will find a whole bunch of bullshit in plain sight. I am not about to go in there and look for any to prove this point to you because I have stuff to do, but you can and it won’t be hard to show them wrong. Just because the (Falung Gong/ Moonie/far right aupporter) publishers say itʻs balanced doesn’t mean that it is balanced, whatever balanced means.

[Wiz Imp]

15. Rising Media Enclave Extremism: The Case of the Epoch Times and Ethnic Mobilization on the Far-Right

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10646175.2025.2455590?src=

This paper investigates the strategies employed by The Epoch Times, a far-right ethnic media outlet, to foster enclave extremism within its readership. Analyzing a corpus of 19,000 articles from 2013 to 2022, the study identifies two key discursive strategies: bundling enemies and bundling allies. On the one hand, the outlet strategically bundles its traditional enemy with other targets of the far-right to fuel hatred and discrimination. On the other hand, ET aligns itself with identities and values embraced by the political Right, positioning itself as a defender of conservative agendas. These strategies cultivate a one-sided belief among readers and propel them toward far-right enclave extremism. The analysis shows how ethnic media outlets can wield ethnic identity as a tool for ideological mobilization, contributing to a broader understanding of how media enclave extremism operates within and influences marginalized communities.

[Drum]

16. Reliable doesn't mean honest

[niyad]

17. Laugh, shake your head, and walk away.

[FSogol]

18. Laugh and find some smarter friends.

[Wiz Imp]

21. Grift, disinfo, fraud? What happened at The Epoch Times?

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/grift-disinfo-fraud-what-happened-at-the-epoch-times-1.7230799

We dive into the wild story behind The Epoch Times, a fringe conservative newspaper turned right-wing propaganda machine with ties to a mysterious dissident Chinese meditation movement.

What are its aims? How did it become one of the biggest pro-Trump ad spenders and a destination for the likes of Candace Owens and Conrad Black?

And what will happen now that its CFO is charged in a $67-million money laundering scandal.

NBC disinfo reporter Brandy Zadrozny explains.

Transcript here:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/grift-disinfo-fraud-what-happened-at-the-epoch-times-transcript-1.7231119

[niyad]

22. Suggest that your friends read the NYT article "Shen Yun Needed

Publicity. Epoch Times Wrote 17,000 articles", December 30, 2024. All about how Shen Yun funds epoch times, the darkness behind the dance company, the rag's fawning coverage of the orange one, and so much more.

[Jacson6]

23. It is by the Chinese Cult Falon Gong. They want to install a new emperor to rule Asia. n/t

[Bettie]

24. Laughter

with snorting (or without, but the snorts really give that extra bit of "are you being serious here?&quot .

[Bev54]

25. It is neither legitimate nor reliable news

It is a religious sect that is spreading misinformation to take down democracy. They are all over the world and run ads all over the internet. Do not click on them.

[blm]

26. Moonie News 2.0

[SSJVegeta]

27. Its owned by Falun Gong -and extremist right wing cult

[Kaleva]

28. If source puts out news that one wants to hear, then it's reliable

What is reliable is a matter of personal opinion.

[Lithos]

29. Has a history of disinformation

And promotion of RW conspiracy memes including:

• Election Misinformation: The outlet was a leading promoter of false 2020 election fraud claims, including debunked theories about Dominion voting machines and Chinese interference. It refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory for months.
• COVID-19 and Climate Denial: The Epoch Times propagated unproven lab-leak theories about COVID-19 and aired documentaries featuring discredited figures like Judy Mikovits. It also ran Meta ads denying Arctic ice melt and downplaying CO2 impacts.
• QAnon and Far-Right Conspiracies: Affiliated platforms like Edge of Wonder promoted QAnon content, while the outlet amplified “Stop the Steal” rhetoric and anti-Black Lives Matter narratives.

[LudwigPastorius]

30. "How to respond?"

By spraying out your drink in a classic, Danny Thomas spit take.

Then, laughing uncontrollably.

[mercuryblues]

33. By straight up laughing in their faces.

Then ask them why they love cult leaders so much. Walk away singing "I Am the Walrus" by the Beetles.

[sl8]

35. Failed fact checks:

You could send them a list a failed fact checks, but I suspect it would be pointless. You'd know far better than I,, of course.

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-epoch-times/
(there are links for each failed fact check at source)

[...]

Failed Fact Checks

Jack Andraka, 15, came up with a “100 percent accurate” cancer-detection method: “168 times faster, 26,000 times less expensive, and 400 times more sensitive” than current methods. – False

Dubious Posts Tie Political Families to Ukraine Work – False

No, Yellowstone volcano’s eruption threat level did not increase in 2018 – False (Corrected)

Concerned artificial intelligence researchers hurriedly abandoned an experimental chatbot program after realizing that the bots were inventing their own language. – False

Did China’s Communist government create the novel coronavirus in a laboratory and release it into the world as a deadly bioweapon? – False

President Donald Trump has 232 electoral votes; Joe Biden has 212, 226, or 227. – False

COVID-19 vaccine mRNA is converted to DNA and enters the cell’s nucleus, so the vaccines can potentially change our DNA – Inaccurate

“COVID Deaths Have Been Vastly Overcounted” – Inaccurate

“Pfizer Knew About Immunosuppression”; “Fully Vaxxed Are More Likely to Die From COVID” – Inaccurate

Further, the Epoch Times frequently publishes pseudoscience news, such as Supernormal Abilities Developed Through Meditation: Dr. Dean Radin Discusses. They also publish false claims from Pseudoscience and anti-vaccination activist Joeseph Mercola who has a long track record of publishing misinformation. Finally, the above referenced NBC News report states, “In addition to claims that alien abductions are real and the “deep state engineered the drug epidemic,” the channel pushes the QAnon conspiracy theory, which falsely posits that the same “Spygate” cabal is a front for a global pedophile ring being taken down by Trump.”

[...]