By the numbers, there is no bigger advocate of President Trump on Facebook than The Epoch Times. But despite its growing reach, little is publicly known about the precise ownership, origins or influences of the nonprofit news outlet. nbcnews.to/2Ze7v99 (1/8)
The Epoch Times has spent more than $1.5 million on pro-Trump advertisements in the last 6 months — more than any organization outside of the Trump campaign.
High engagement has made it a Trump family favorite and a key component of the president's re-election campaign. (2/8)
At the same time, its network of news sites and YouTube channels has made it a powerful conduit for conspiracy theories, including anti-vaccination propaganda and QAnon, to reach the main stream. nbcnews.to/2Ze7v99 (3/8)
The media outlet’s ownership and operation is closely tied to Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual community with the slated goal of taking down China’s government. (4/8)
Former practitioners of Falun Gong told @NBCNews that believers think the world is headed toward a judgment day, where those labeled “communists” will be sent to a kind of hell.
Trump is viewed as a key ally in the anti-communist fight, former Epoch Times employees said. (5/8)
The Epoch Times assembled a team of 7 young reporters otherwise unconnected to Falun Gong by 2016.
Things seemed "strange" even from the first day, according to 5 former reporters who spoke to @NBCNews. nbcnews.to/2Ze7v99 (6/8)
“It’s like we were supposed to be fighting so-called liberal propaganda by making our own,” said Steve Klett, who covered the Trump campaign for The Epoch Times as his first job in journalism. He said his articles were edited to remove outside criticism of Trump. (7/8)
“The worst was the Pulse shooting,” Klett said. “We weren’t allowed to cover stories involving homosexuality, but that bumps up against them wanting to cover Islamic terrorism. So I wrote four articles without using the word gay.” nbcnews.to/2Ze7v99 (8/8) #NBCNewsThreads
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According to @NBCNews analysis of videos, photos, and interviews with university staff and students, at least 5 of Gaza’s 7 major universities have been destroyed or partially damaged since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Last March, Iowa police investigated a bomb threat targeting a junior high school.
They determined that the threat was a hoax.
But a detective from the police department had a theory about its possible inspiration: the ‘Libs of TikTok’ account. nbcnews.com/tech/internet/…
Officers and government officials in four other jurisdictions tell @NBCNews they believe the account has sparked threats in their localities with posts that digitally heckle people such as drag performers, LGBTQ teachers and doctors who treat transgender patients.
.@NBCNews identified 33 instances, starting in November 2020, when people or institutions singled out by ‘Libs of TikTok’ later reported threats.
The last time Bettersten Wade saw her son, Dexter — who suffered from mental illness — was March 5, when he walked away from their home with a friend. She reported him missing to Jackson police nine days later.
For months, Bettersten said, she asked police for updates, and officers told her they had no info.
She did her own search, visiting abandoned homes, asking around her neighborhood and posting desperate pleas on Facebook, begging Dexter — or anyone who’d seen him — to call her.
BREAKING: Hamas intentionally targeted elementary schools in Israel, instructed terrorists to seize hostages, move them into Gaza, and to "kill as many people as possible," maps and documents recovered from the bodies of attackers show. nbcnews.com/news/investiga…
One page labeled “Top Secret” outlines a plan of attack for Kfar Sa’ad, saying “Combat unit 1” is directed to “contain the new Da’at school,” while “Combat unit 2” is to “collect hostages,” “search the Bnei Akiva youth center” and “search the old Da’at school.”
Another page labeled “Top Secret Maneuver” describes a plan for Hamas units to secure two sides of Kfar Sa’ad. It says “kills as many as possible” and “capture hostages.” Other orders include surrounding a dining hall and holding hostages in it.
Former U.S. intelligence and military officers say tactics Hamas used in its attack indicate Iran most likely played a significant role in the Hamas attack on Israel.
The media storm came as the world was in the midst of a different pandemic — a novel H1N1 flu — and anti-vaccine activists were on the hunt for vaccine injury stories.
Jenny McCarthy’s group found her and offered a cure – if she would star in an anti-vaccine documentary.
The support didn’t last long. Desiree was outed as a “fake” by the same media organizations that had credulously reported her story. Generation Rescue stopped calling and left her with an anti-vaccine doctor’s $32,000 bill. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/d…