Ever wonder HOW right-wing disinformation outlets are stacked with cash? Wonder no more because the Epoch Times’ CFO was just popped for hustling $67 million from foreign countries for conservative interests in Canada and the US.

The Rebel News model just landed the Epoch Times CFO 67 million in money laundering charges. https://t.co/U7QKx3HUsp

— Dean Blundell🇨🇦 (@ItsDeanBlundell) June 28, 2024

The Details and ROADMAP Epoch Used Is THE MODEL used by EVERY fake news outlet on the planet – but was perfected by MAGA. Of course.

The media outlet, which began as a Chinese dissident-founded newspaper before being purchased by a right-conservative hedge fund, has been thrust into the limelight for allegedly transforming into a prominent right-wing publication peddling conspiracy theories. Now, it faces accusations of a criminal money laundering scheme. The Epoch Times’ chief financial officer, Weidong Guan, also known as Bill Guan, aged 61, was indicted on Monday for laundering over $67 million in ill-gotten funds.

I’m not saying Canadian outlets misappropriate those funds as Epoch’s CFO did, but they ” fundraise ” similarly. Let me explain:

https://t.co/C6Q1HNNqWm

— sosa914🇨🇦☕️🧘🏻‍♀️ (@sosa9141) June 28, 2024

Pay Attention – Here’s How It Works

According to federal tax filings, the Epoch Times’ revenue skyrocketed from nearly $15.5 million in 2019 to over $70 million in 2020. Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York allege that Guan spearheaded an initiative utilizing a cryptocurrency platform to purchase discounted prepaid debit cards loaded with illicit funds, including fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits.

Participants in the scheme reportedly used stolen identities to establish additional financial accounts, which they then utilized to transfer the funds to bank accounts linked to the media company. These funds were sometimes laundered through Guan’s personal accounts and other company accounts, according to the prosecutors.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated in a press release, “Guan conspired with others to benefit himself, the media company, and its affiliates by laundering tens of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits and other crime proceeds.”

When banks raised concerns about the funds, Guan allegedly repeatedly deceived them, falsely claiming that the funds originated from legitimate donations to the media company. Guan pleaded not guilty and was in custody on Monday night, facing a $3 million bail package, as The New York Times reported.

In a statement to NPR, an Epoch Times spokesperson emphasized the organization’s commitment to upholding integrity in its dealings and pledged full cooperation with the investigation against Guan. The company suspended Guan pending a resolution to the matter.

The Epoch Times is linked to Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual movement. It was established in 2000 to counter Chinese Communist Party propaganda. According to its website, the media company operates in 35 countries and in 22 languages.

An investigation by The New York Times in 2020 revealed that the newspaper had become a significant force in right-wing media by aligning with former President Donald Trump and saturating Facebook with clickbait and conspiracy theories. NBC News discovered that the Epoch Times launched an aggressive pro-Trump advertising campaign before the 2020 election and created fake accounts to disseminate its content. The newspaper was subsequently banned from advertising on Facebook for violating the company’s transparency rules for ad buys.

The Epoch Times has propagated false narratives, such as claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, the alleged danger of COVID-19 vaccines, and a supposed conspiracy to encourage people to consume insects.

A.J. Bauer, a journalism professor at the University of Alabama specializing in conservative media, expressed little surprise at the money laundering charges. He noted that the newspaper’s “rapid and massive financial growth” did not correspond with a comparable increase in circulation or influence within the right-wing media sphere.

“Something always felt off to me about it, and it seems that government investigators felt the same way,” Bauer remarked.

Money Laundering and Disinformation: A Model for Alt-Right, Conservative, and Religious Lobby Groups

The case of The Epoch Times is not an isolated incident but rather part of a broader pattern where alt-right, conservative, and religious lobby groups use similar tactics to launder money and fund disinformation campaigns. Entities like Rebel News and other third-party media agencies have been implicated in such schemes, highlighting the need for greater transparency and accountability.

The Model of Money Laundering

These groups often employ sophisticated financial maneuvers to obscure the origins of their funds. Common tactics include:

1. Cryptocurrency Transactions: Utilizing the anonymity of cryptocurrency to move large sums of money without detection.

2. Prepaid Debit/Credit Cards: Purchasing prepaid debit cards with illicit funds, which can then be used to make transactions that appear legitimate. Remember the GiveSendGo Convoy shit? Rebel News “Fundraisers?” Carbon. Copy.

3. Stolen Identities: Using stolen identities to open multiple financial accounts further complicates the money trail.

4. Shell Companies: Shell companies funnel money through various layers, making it difficult for investigators to trace the source.

Funding Disinformation

The laundered money is often funneled into media campaigns that spread disinformation. This includes:

– Fake News and Conspiracy Theories: Promoting false narratives about elections, public health, and other critical issues.

– Social Media Manipulation: Creating fake accounts and using bots to amplify misleading content.

– Targeted Advertising: Running aggressive ad campaigns to influence public opinion, often violating platform rules on transparency.

The Need for Transparency

The National Security and Counterintelligence Operations Program (NSCOP) report, which details foreign funding of third-party media agencies, needs to be made public. This transparency is crucial for several reasons:

– Public Awareness: Citizens have the right to know who is funding the media they consume.

– Accountability: Holding media organizations accountable for their financial practices and the content they produce.

– National Security: Understanding the extent of foreign influence in domestic media is vital for national security.

By making the NSCOP report public, we can better understand the mechanisms behind these disinformation campaigns and take steps to mitigate their impact on society. Making it illegal for media to accept foreign money for any narrative-building purposes through donations, grants, or otherwise should have been our fucking priority a long time ago.

This Epoch Times money laundering model is THE model for all fake news organizations. Maga and Maple Maga. We live in a donation world where special interests, foreign governments, and assholes alike have no problem loading millions onto prepaid CCs into BTC accounts with little or no way to track any transaction. Key in the money “funding” game.

It would be nice if we could do something about it, FFS. But we won’t. Why? Politicians and political interests do this WITH those fake media outlets.

Duh.

A LOT of fake Canadian Media outlets use the “donation” vertical as their main source of fundraising with little or no oversight.

While Rebel News claims to practice transparency in its fundraising efforts, there have been some documented issues and concerns around its donation process:

1. Indirect fund management: In one notable case, Rebel News fundraised for the legal fees of Mehmet Erhan, an individual charged with breaching health orders in Australia. However, the funds would be paid into Rebel News’s “Fight the Fines” fund rather than directly to Erhan’s personal account. This indirect handling of donations raised questions about fund management and transparency.

2. Lack of tax deductibility: Rebel News explicitly states that contributions to their organization are not tax-deductible[2]. This lack of tax benefits for donors is unusual for many media organizations and may raise questions about their financial structure.

3. Non-refundable donations: The organization’s terms and conditions state that all crowdfunded contributions are considered “gratuitous gifts” and are non-refundable[2]. This policy could potentially lead to issues if donors later disagree with how their funds are used.

4. Surplus fund allocation: Rebel News states that surplus funds raised for specific initiatives will be used for other costs associated with that project or similar future initiatives. While this is disclosed, it allows for broad discretion in fund allocation, which some donors might find concerning.

5. Reliance on crowdfunding: Rebel News heavily relies on crowdfunding, raising approximately $2.245 million in the past fiscal year for its business operations. This dependence on donor support, combined with the lack of government funding or traditional revenue streams, has led to scrutiny of their financial practices.

6. Allegations of profiting from controversy: Some critics have suggested that Rebel News may intentionally court controversy to drive up donations. For instance, a Reddit user commented on a recent incident involving a truck with controversial messages, speculating that “their donation revenue doubles from this publicity”[5].

While these issues have been documented or discussed, it’s important to note that no concrete evidence of financial impropriety has been publicly proven. Rebel News continues to operate and maintain a significant following despite these concerns about its donation processes.

Illegal and unethical are two different things. I’m not accusing the Canadian alt-right fake media ecosystem of Epoch Time’s Illegality. Still, their lack of transparency around where their money comes from and where it goes certainly qualifies as unethical.

And now you know how it works.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebel_News

https://www.rebelnews.com/terms_conditions

https://www.rebelnews.com/donate

https://www.rebelnews.com/support

 https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/1dkixus/rebel_news_owns_truck_with_islamophobic_messages/

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

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/03/g-s1-2640/epoch-times-federal-indictment-money-laundering

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/13/nx-s1-5005297/epoch-times-turmoil-money-laundering

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/epoch-times-falun-gong-growth-rcna111373

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/inside-the-epoch-times-a-mysterious-pro-trump-newspaper/617645/

https://www.theepochtimes.com/about-us

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/epoch-times-cfo-money-laundering-1.7223670

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg66xe59zyeo

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/06/04/epoch-times-chief-financial-officer-laundering-scheme/73966022007/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/06/04/epoch-times-money-laundering-cryptocurrency/

[12] https://www.nsicop-cpsnr.ca/reports/rp-2024-06-03/special-report-foreign-interference.pdf

[13] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/foreign-interference-china-india-nsicop-1.7225862

https://foreigninterferencecommission.ca/fileadmin/user_upload/Foreign_Interference_Commission_-_Initial_Report__May_2024__-_Digital.pdf

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/foreign-interference-committee-report-released

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-04/ran_conspiracy_theories_and_right-wing_2021_en.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/23/turning-point-rightwing-youth-group-critics-tactics

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/tactics-of-disinformation_508.pdf

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1905.02712.pdf