Just seven years after being introduced to the public in China, Falun Gong went from being widely popular throughout the country to becoming the number one enemy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). But why? What led up to the brutal crackdown? There were four main factors that gave rise to this tragedy.

1. Falun Gong’s Massive Popularity and Rapid Growth, Outnumbering CCP Membership
2. Falun Gong’s Complete Independence from CCP’s Control
3. Falun Gong’s Guiding Principles Incompatible with Communist, Atheist Ideology
4. One Man’s Jealousy and Political Motivations

If 100 million people were targeted in a violent campaign consisting of illegal abductions, imprisonment, torture, and killing, we’d know about it right? Especially in the modern, interconnected world of endless cell phone-captured videos and instant messaging, surely, evidence of such a campaign would make headlines around the world.

Tragically, the answer is, in this case, no, and the story of the silence that has ensued features a hard-core tyranny that has coerced and manipulated a broad range of people and institutions across Asia and the West into appeasement.

There have been a series of news and magazine articles published in the U.S. recently that grossly distort the teachings and beliefs of Falun Gong. In fact, these articles mimic with shocking similarity the hate-filled propaganda prominent in communist China, which fuels terrible persecution of people who practice Falun Gong there.

What exactly is going on? What kind of mischaracterizations or outright lies are we seeing in these reports, and why would these U.S. media companies engage in this kind of bigotry?

We’re going to dig into these questions and find some answers.