The Dark Propaganda Strategy of Epoch Times Progenitor of fake news delivers to local doorsteps By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Last month, many local residents were amongst the thousands of Southern Californians who received a copy of The Epoch Times in their mail boxes — the newspaper “freedom loving people wanting news without spin prefer to read.” What The Epoch Times doesn’t tell you is that it’s connected to and has the same function as the long-running Chinese performing arts show, Shen Yun. You probably recognize the show from the ubiquitous billboards promoting the show. Shen Yun is the public relations — some say propaganda — arm of Falun Gong, a controversial spiritual movement which has been banned in China. Online, at least up until recently, if you had the misfortune of forgetting to hit the commercial skip button after four seconds while watching a YouTube video, you probably would have seen part of the long Epoch Times’ commercial featuring Roman Balmakov peering out from behind a copy of the newspaper. While some journalists have described Balmakov as a Peter Parker/Spider-Man casting reject, he is in fact the online visage of The Epoch Times. “Hey, I just read an unbelievable article in The Epoch Times,” he says. Then he splays the paper on a table, showcasing a news story headlined “The Mysterious Origins of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] Virus,” a variation of former President Donald Trump’s term: the “China virus.” The headline suggested that the pathogen could have emerged, maybe purposefully, from a lab in Wuhan, China. This has become a common rightwing claim. It’s important to keep in mind that most scientists believe that the virus jumped naturally from animals to humans but the most recent report from the World Health Organization is inconclusive. Alternatively, the outlet was suggesting that the virus was a divine Real News, Real People, Really Effective
[See Epoch Times, p. 5]
Roman Balmakov, the online visage of The Epoch Times and performers from Shen Yun, the dance troupe that also serves as propaganda for Falun Gong.
Proposed Park Would Remove Red Car Line p. 2
A debate: Should schools re-open before teacher vaccinations? By Mark Friedman, Columnist
“political theater that opportunistically feeds off of people’s frustrations.” UTLA went onto accuse the councilman of pandering to the business community’s desire to accelerate employees’ return to work even as COVID-19 outbreaks at workplaces have soared dramatically. “This push for unsafe reopenings is harmful to all of Los Angeles, but particularly the Black and brown communities these two (Buscaino and Cedillo) are supposed to represent.”
In a letter signed by more than 800 educators, parents, students and community members in Buscaino’s district, his motion was condemned for political grandstanding. In the letter, Buscaino was called to focus his efforts instead on reinvesting in schools to make them genuinely safe. “Calling for a safe reopening of schools should include a comprehensive plan to vaccinate educators and the families of our most vulnerable students,” the
February 18 - March 3, 2021
LOS ANGELES — On Feb. 10, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer rejected District 15 Councilman Joe Buscaino and District 1 Councilman Gil Cedillo’s motion to sue the Los Angeles Unified School District to force the unsafe reopening of school campuses (“inperson instruction immediately”) even as more variants are found spreading in the community that are far more contagious than the original coronavirus. In a released statement, the United Teachers of Los Angeles saluted Feuer’s action, calling the motion
Judas and the Black Messiah film changes a false narrative p. 9
City Attorney Opposes Buscaino’s Motion to Sue LAUSD
[See City Opposes, p. 4]
COVID-19 Cases in the U.S. as of Feb. 17, 2021: 28,431,808 • Deaths: 501,736 Los Angeles County Cases: 1,169,550 • Deaths: 19,215 • For up-to-date stats: www.randomlengthsnews.com
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