Part 1
So, I like to study cults for fun, I mean, I study religion in general for fun I've said that like 70 times on my channel at least. But I also like to study cults specifically what makes a cult, the psychology this that why people join.
And there's one group that I've started recently looking into. I knew about them before they were kind of on my radar, but I never like did a deep dive, and that is the Falun Gong or Falun Dafa -- I have a hard time with the pronunciation for some reason. But, I don't know if they actually need the criteria of a cult, because I haven't gotten to look into that yet, and it can be a little bit challenging.
But, boy, they are weird. This is definitely gonna be multiple videos, because there's just kind of too much for me to fit into just one, and almost everybody has seen something from them, because it was actually a meme for a while.
See, they host this dance troupe called Shen Yun, and it's all over the place, and the whole thing is just propaganda.
Part 2
So Shen Yun is the name of the different dance troops that go around and are owned and run by Falun Gong.
Falun Gong is actually persecuted in China although not to the degree that they will tell you. And as a result, they have made these shows as nothing but propaganda machines. They are very openly and obviously anti Chinese Communist Party which it is what it is but they also fill it with lies.
So, they make the claim that Chinese classical dance is illegal in China, that's not accurate; they make the claim that they're doing Chinese classical dance, that's not accurate; they make the claim that gymnastics was taken from Chinese classical dance, that's not accurate; they basically claim that they alone are trying to revive 5000 years of culture is what they say, that's not accurate. And there's a lot of problems with these, but I can't fit them in this video. So, see Part Three.
Part 3
Okay, so why does Shen Yun matter when it comes to the bigger picture of Falun Gong? So there's a lot of reasons and I can't even begin to touch on all of them, but let's talk about a couple.
So they make the claim that the CCP has essentially wiped out 5,000 years of Chinese culture. Saying that they've completely eradicated Chinese culture in China, is ridiculous, and I hope that the reasons are obvious for why it's bad.
Another issue is actually recruitment within the US. I don't think they'll ever get a foothold but I think that they will be supported by the right wing if they play their cards right. See, they use a lot of propaganda that right wing Americans really like, and they also oppose things that threatening Americans really like to oppose, and we're going to get into that in the next video or two.
Okay, so part 4 and then a short break.
Part 4
I wanted to touch on a couple of ways that Falun Gong has been trying to influence the American view of China, and how they are seeking to assert some degree of influence over Americans.
Outside of Shen Yun, they actually circulate news in other ways as well, one that people might be familiar with is actually through a YouTube channel called China Uncensored which through the grapevine is actually funded by Falun Gong, and that channel is entirely anti Chinese Communist Party material. You definitely have to take it with a grain of salt as a result of who it is funded by.
Another way is actually through a news publication they own called The Epoch Times, they were a right wing skewed newspaper who you would not immediately identify as a group trying to control you.
Source：
Part 1: https://www.tiktok.com/@unpopularwitch/video/6909386749491875078
Part 2: https://www.tiktok.com/@unpopularwitch/video/6909389968574008581
Part 3: https://www.tiktok.com/@unpopularwitch/video/6909392540588444933
Part 4: https://www.tiktok.com/@unpopularwitch/video/6909393572903095557
