(Stillness in the Storm Editor) The following article exposes the latest Deep State effort to smear a media outlet and an oppressed people, labeling them extremists. The Deep State operates many different methods of governing an enslaved population.
One of those is communism, of which, China is one of the most successful examples of a socialist-inspired slave-government.
Is it really slavery you might be asking? It is in the sense that free thought, speech, and freedom are suppressed, and anyone who goes against the grain is prosecuted, with extreme prejudice. The government is a totalitarian regime, acknowledged by even mainstream historians to have killed at least 1 million of their own people. But many historians question this number, suggesting the figure is more accurately about 70 million.
The Deep State-run media, here in the West, has for many years paid lip service to anti-communist rhetoric. But in recent times, a new pro-socialist media campaign has been rolled out, with folks like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and Elizabeth Warren acting as front persons.
In line with this revival of socialism, within the Deep State influence machine, a dissenting opinion must be squashed.
Now, the media is trying to paint the spiritual practice of Falun Gong as some kind of radical cult that seeks to destroy the communist regime in China, using violence as their main weapon. But it should be noted that the core philosophy of the Falun Gong practice is that it “combines meditation and qigong exercises with a moral philosophy centered on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance,” according to Wikipedia.
Related Deep State Smear Campaign: “How Edge of Wonders Q Anon Videos Are Dangerous”
This Pri.org piece provides an overview of what the Deep State appears to be doing, which is to use association in the media with overtly violent and radical groups to draw suspicion to Falun Gong, in such a way that people will never investigate deeper because it’s already been labeled a “cult” by the “authorities.”
Following the recent brutal murder of a young woman at a McDonald’s in Shandong province by alleged members of the “Almighty God” sect, Chinese state media released a list of the 11 “most active cults” in China today.
Listed first was the Falun Gong, a group with no history of violence or terrorist activities. Contrast that with other groups on the list such as “Almighty God” or “Three Grades of Servants,” members of which have been blamed by authorities for at least 20 murders.
The presence of Falun Gong alongside such dangerous sects shows that Beijing’s propaganda campaign against the group — banned outright in China in 1999 but still active in Hong Kong and Taiwan — is still going strong. (source)
Why is Falun Gong, which has no history of violence, as reported by the above article, being listed alongside openly violent groups? Think psychological warfare.
To the average person, who 1) lacks the time and resources to properly discern if the claim is true and 2) is conditioned to fear anything labeled taboo by the state, such associations hold significant sway. Most people rest their conclusions on statements from experts and authorities. If the Chinese government is calling Falun Gong a violent extremist cult, then the Chinese people damn well better get in line and agree, or suffer accordingly. As in, they might have their social credit score reduced.
Buy Book Mind Wars: Brain Science and the Military in the 21st Century
What this effectively means is that to question the status quo is to invite social sanctions by the government on their own people, of which, most simply go along to get along.
The Epoch Times is a news outlet, which is allegedly funded by a group of Chinese Americans, according to Wikipedia. Whether or not this is the case I can’t confirm at this time. But for sake of argument, let’s assume it is. And let’s also assume this group of Chinese Americans are also unhappy with the Chinese government. Is this really a crime?
Consider that, after Castro took over the Cuban government, in a violent socialist revolution, Cubans fled to the USA, forming one of the most outspoken Cuban American communities in Miami Florida. How did the media respond? In most cases, with praise.
So why is it OK for anti-communist Cuba Americans to speak out against the Cuban government but it’s not OK for Chinese Americans? Of course, the mainstream media isn’t explicitly stating it isn’t OK—but they are painting a picture through the coverage that these Chinese Americans are somehow radical, and that their involvement in the Epoch Times must be taken with suspicion.
With all this in mind. Carefully review the following article.
The standard tactic with smear pieces of this type, propaganda psychological warfare directed at readers, is to use language that triggers fear so that you willingly accept the narrative offered. In this case, it is claimed that The Epoch Times is some kind of organ of the radical Falun Gong group, which the Chinese government labels as extremists; and therefore, you should also consider the Epoch Times extremists. But if that wasn’t enough to convince you to toe the Deep State line, here’s another association: Trump.
The below article also alludes to the fact The Epoch Times must be some kind of alt-right racist organization because they support Trump. And, you know, only racists, fascists, and horrible people support Trump, right?
Oh, that wasn’t enough to spark your fear? No problem. How about the idea that QAnon is a racist cult, and that Edge of Wonder talks about QAnon; therefore, they must also be part of the racist cult.
Well, for most of you who are reading these words, you don’t maintain blind hatred for Trump, nor are you easily influenced by Chinese propaganda. As such, you’ll be empowered through open-mindedness and critical thought to identify the propaganda tactics employed below.
Buy Book Bloody Harvest: Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China
That said, let’s address the elephant in the room.
Are The Epoch Times, Edge of Wonder, and Falun Gong extremists, or pushing a secret agenda that goes against the interests of the people, the United States, or transcendent values of freedom and prosperity for all?
To be sure, the Deep State media wants you to think so. And they make all sorts of claims and accusations to this effect, but none of them are evidenced-based. Is it possible? Sure. But until a valid case can be made, this is just another example of fear-mongering pushed by the powers that be, because they don’t want you thinking about these things. They don’t want you to explore these things yourself, because if you did, you’d likely quickly realize there’s no extremism at all.
What evidence do we have?
For The Epoch Times, Edge of Wonder, and Falun Gong, there’s ample evidence that they are peaceful organizations merely sharing their views and opinions, without any calls to violence of extremism. As a matter of fact, they often explicitly promote peace and tolerance, not violence. So on this score, the Deep State fear-mongering claims have no merit—they are baseless. I invite you to review their material for yourself.
Lastly, it is possible plants within various organizations can participate in extremism that then paints an entire group in a bad light. This is a proven tactic of the Deep State. This means that, in the future, a Deep State asset could gain entry into an otherwise peaceful organization, take violent action, and in doing so, make it appear that the whole thing is bad.
Buy Book The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI’s Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States
If these propaganda tactics don’t work, we could see the above-mentioned scenario play out.
What do you think? What quotes below can you cite where they use language to steer public opinion, through fear-mongering tactics?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
– Justin
by Morgan Phillips, August 20th, 2019
How did a publication founded on a spiritual movement the Chinese government has labeled a “cult” gain enough traction to be scoring interviews with influential Republican lawmakers and bringing in millions of revenue each year?
NBC News did a deep dive into The Epoch Times to find out.
The New York-based nonprofit news outlet was founded in 2000 with the stated goal of to “provide information to Chinese communities to help immigrants assimilate into American society.” What follows are the four biggest takeaways from the over 3,000-word piece:
1. The Epoch Times believe President Donald Trump was heaven-sent to defeat communism.
The publication spends more money on pro-Trump ads on Facebook than any other — it’s spent over $1.5 million on 11,000 Trump advertisements in the last six months alone. “More than most Democratic presidential candidates have spent on their own campaigns,” according to NBC.
Ben Hurley, an Australian former Falun Gong practitioner who wrote for the paper from 2005-2013, said that the paper’s target audience of Falun gong followers “believe that Trump was sent by heaven to destroy the Communist Party.”
Members of the Trump family have frequently posted The Epoch Times content, and some have sat been interviewed by the paper.
According to former The Epoch Times employees, Trump is viewed as a key ally in the anti-communist fight, which leads back to the paper’s close associations with spiritual community Falun Gong.
2. Falun Gong is a community dedicated to the takedown of China’s government, which explains why The Epoch Times is blocked in mainland China.
Believers think the world is headed towards “judgment day” when those they label “communists” will be damned to hell.
Hurley said that practitioners saw communism everywhere: “former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, movie star Jackie Chan, and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan were all considered to have sold themselves out to the Chinese government.”
The NBC report describes Falun Gong as, “a relatively new spiritual practice that combines ancient Chinese meditative exercises, mysticism, and often ultraconservative cultural world views.” Falun Gong’s founder referred to Epoch Media as “our media” and former employees confirmed that its practice heavily influences coverage.
In China there has been a crackdown on Falun Gong as well, with authorities outlawing the practice, arresting and even torturing those who refuse to give it up.
Buy Book Keep Calm and Breathe
3. It’s only in recent days that The Epoch Times has wielded such influence; it had struggled to stand out among other fringe conservative sites.
And up until 2016, it mostly stuck to Chinese politics. But a new aggressive ad strategy combined with an embrace of conservative US politics has doubled its revenue. In April, videos from the Epoch Media Group had around 3 billion views on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.
Also in 2016, The Epoch Times heeded a call from Li to run more like a typical news organization. They placed job ads on Indeed.com and hired seven reporters not associated with Falun Gong. These new reporters were told “their content was to be critical of communist China, clear-eyed about the threat of Islamic terrorism, focused on illegal immigration and at all times rooted in ‘traditional’ values, they said. This meant no content about drugs, gay people or popular music.”
The Epoch Times brought in $8.1 million in revenue in 2017, which was double what it had the previous year. New Tang Dynasty (NTD), a video outlet under Epoch Media Group, brought in $18 million that year.
4. The founder of Falun Gong, Li Hongzhi, enforces some pretty radical (cult-like?) views.
Among other mainstream conventions Falun Gong detests are homosexuality, feminism, and popular music. Former reporter Steve Klett recalled extensively covering the Pulse shooting (which reenforced the publication’s fear of radical Islam) all without using the word “gay.”
All the while, Li asserts he is a god-like figure who can levitate and walk through walls. He taught that sickness is a symptom of evil and can be cured through meditation, that aliens from undiscovered dimensions have overtaken the minds and bodies of humans, bringing corruptions such as computers and airplanes.
5. The Epoch Times is key in peddling the internet’s fringier conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaccination propaganda and QAnon.
NTD puts out videos twice-weekly that get upwards of 33 million views. The videos assert claims such as alien abductions are real and the drug epidemic was engineered by the “deep state.” It peddles QAnon and a theory that Trump is taking down a global pedophile ring.
It’s been key in promoting “Spygate” the theory often referred to on Breitbart and by Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Obama implanted spies in the 2016 presidential election to thwart Trump’s victory.
In sum, The Epoch Times embarked on exponential growth when it expanded its online social media presence, increased ad spending, and honed its message on two themes: “enthusiastic support for Trump’s agenda, and the exposure of what the publication claims is a labyrinthian, global conspiracy led by Clinton and former President Barack Obama to tear down Trump.”
[Photo by Anthony Wallace/Getty Images]
Stillness in the Storm Editor: Why did we post this?
The Deep State agenda requires total control of your sense of reality, what I have termed reality management. This is founded on the psychological principle that the environment affects behavior more than direct force. If you want to control someone so perfectly that they don’t know it and actually do what you want thinking it was their own choice, you need to control what someone thinks. Propaganda is a tool for the mass manipulation of perception, values, and life choices. The aim of propaganda is to use subtle techniques to influence your sense of reality, and by extension, your life choices. Lawfully, when a person or people refuse to discuss ideas and work with others, subtle techniques can be used to manage their behavior. Benevolent use of propaganda works to raise the individual up so that they can engage in worldly affair management as a direct agent. Malevolent propaganda seeks to dumb down the individual so they lack the competence to participate. The Deep State uses propaganda in the latter fashion. Understanding that biggest danger to the powers that be is your own mind, your ability to think critically, investigate honestly, and bravely consider new ideas without prejudice, empowers you to be a warrior for truth and justice. Our world needs active thinkers. Learning about these truths can be difficult to accept, but once you let your resentment for the imperfection of this world die, you can embrace the adulthood desire to make things better through your influence. That is the work we are all here to do. With this knowledge in hand, specifically knowledge of how the Deep State use propaganda against the people, you can develop the self-mastery skills needed to not only transcend such efforts but use them to train your warrior spirit. And once trained, you can join the ranks of well informed and educated world healers working tirelessly to free humanity and make the world a better place.
– Justin
Not sure how to make sense of this? Want to learn how to discern like a pro? Read this essential guide to discernment, analysis of claims, and understanding the truth in a world of deception: 4 Key Steps of Discernment – Advanced Truth-Seeking Tools.
Stillness in the Storm Editor’s note: Did you find a spelling error or grammar mistake? Send an email to [email protected], with the error and suggested correction, along with the headline and url. Do you think this article needs an update? Or do you just have some feedback? Send us an email at [email protected]. Thank you for reading.
Source:
Leave a Reply