So @BrandyZadrozny and I have been working on a story for about five months. It's almost definitely the wildest story I've ever covered. Sounds like it's coming out early tomorrow.
@BrandyZadrozny Well, here we go.
@BrandyZadrozny New from me + @brandyzadrozny:
The Epoch Times is the largest pro-Trump spender on Facebook.
It's run by a religious sect that believes judgment day, which sends those they label “communists” to Hell, is 30 years late—and that Trump is making it happen
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny It's impossible to get through the scope of this story in a few tweets, but I'm going to try.
@BrandyZadrozny The Epoch Times is sometimes the most-viewed news creator on all of Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.
In April, it outranked ANY other news outlet in video views.
It's run by people who “believe that Trump was sent by heaven to destroy the Communist Party”
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny Epoch Times' senior editorial are quietly Falun Gong practitioners, a religious group now based in a compound in Dragon Springs, NY.
At the compound, use of medicines is discouraged, and visa-based arranged relationships are common, ex-practitioners say.
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny The Epoch Times hired non-Falun Gong members to cover the 2016 election.
“It’s like we were supposed to be fighting so-called liberal propaganda by making our own,” said a former Trump campaign reporter.
He said it was like working at a troll farm.
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny The Epoch Times' senior editorial staff, sometimes the largest video publisher on all of social media, quietly runs one of the largest Qanon channels on YouTube.
It has over 33 million views, including “13 BLOODLINES & their Diabolical End Game.”
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny The Epoch Times, whose staff believe judgment day is 30 years late and Trump is helping it go down, has allies in the White House.
It had a 40-minute Trump Tower interview with Lara Trump this year. The president's FB page shared them a half-dozen times.
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny No one on Facebook spends more promoting Donald Trump than the Epoch Times. Millions were dropped on 11,000 ads in the last six months, more than most Democratic presidential candidates.
They use the ad money to push Qanon-lite.
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny But wait! Isn't The Epoch Times a non-profit dedicated to providing "information to Chinese communities to help immigrants assimilate into American society"?
How and why are they spending millions to boost Trump on Facebook?
Good question!
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny When we reached out to The Epoch Times for comment on this story, they responded by publishing an article called "Our Response to NBC News’ Inappropriate Questions."
It included this line.
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny Not knowing what was in our story, conservative figureheads quickly rallied around The Epoch Times.
This is a Devin Nunes tweet linking to their response to us.
nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
@BrandyZadrozny Another Epoch Times mystery we couldn't figure out:
On September 12th of last year, an Epoch Times photographer handed Donald Trump a manila envelope as he exited the East Room of the White House.
washingtonpost.com/politics/white…
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