Media Reports Give False Picture of The Epoch Times and Its Sample Edition

Epoch Times newspapers. (The Epoch Times)

Some competitor media have published biased, misleading reports that misrepresent The Epoch Times and our sample newspaper with false labels and accusations. Here is our response. (Specific responses to CBC,The New York Times, and NBC reports can be found at the end of this statement).

The Epoch Times is an independent, non-partisan media outlet that has won multiple journalism awards. Our mission is to bring our readers a truthful view of the world, free from the influence of any government, corporation, or political party.

The Epoch Times has published sample editions distributed to different areas by Canada Post to grow our readership and subscription base. Sampling is a common and established practice in the publishing industry.

Sample editions included a collection of articles on national and international news, opinion, health, culture, and other lifestyle content, as well as articles on the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup of the coronavirus and its persistent efforts to infiltrate and interfere with Canada and the West.

Thousands of those who received our sample paper have sent us positive feedback and thanked us.

The Epoch Times was first established 20 years ago by Chinese immigrants in North America as an antidote to communist censorship and propaganda. We are well known for breaking many of the most important China-related social, political, and economic news.

For instance, we reported the virus outbreak in Wuhan as early as Dec. 31, 2019, and the coverup by the Chinese regime, before most other media. Back in 2003, we reported on the SARS outbreak three weeks before the Chinese regime admitted to it, also ahead of most other media.

Our timely warning of the SARS and COVID-19 outbreaks could and did save lives.

Dr. Shawn Whatley, past president of the Ontario Medical Association, stated in March last year, “I first learned about damage by the new, aggressive Wuhan virus from The Epoch Times. Kudos to ET for doing what we pay the departments of health billions of dollars to do.”

Some have mistakenly thought that our sample editions are anti-China or racist. We love China and the Chinese people. The Chinese people are the biggest victims of the Chinese Communist Party, and our media reports on the CCP’s atrocities against its own citizens, as well as alerts the rest of the world to the regime’s threats.

The Epoch Times stands up for the Chinese people and other victims of the Chinese Communist Party out of a sense of caring for the Chinese people, Canada, and humanity. As a result, our Chinese edition has grown to be the largest Chinese news media outside China.

“I have admired the publishers of Epoch Times for many years. Their courage, commitment, and perseverance in telling the truth of the Chinese Communist Party is much needed in the world today. I respect them and applaud them,” former Canadian Senator Consiglio Di Nino said recently.

Another mischaracterization of our media is labelling us as “far-right.” We believe we are neutral and independent. In reality, we do not conduct ourselves based on the political left-right spectrum. We do not see news in terms of left and right, but in terms of truthfulness. If a news development is true we will not hesitate to report on it, whether or not it appeals to the political tastes of some.

The independent media watchdog AllSides, which does its assessments based in part on a “blind bias survey,” evaluates us in this way: “The Epoch Times bias rating is Lean Right, though perhaps close to Center. Much of The Epoch Times’ reporting is balanced; a slight right-wing bias is mostly displayed via story choice.”

In fact, the Epoch Times was rated most neutral by AllSides compared to New York Times, BBC, Bloomberg, and The Associated Press.

Some have accused us of publishing misinformation or fake news, but none of them have pointed out any factual problems in our reporting. No example of a single sentence or paragraph is offered. They simply throw negative labels at us.

For instance, last year The Epoch Times was one of the few media outlets that raised questions about the origin of the coronavirus—the possibility that it had leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology—and that such a possibility deserved investigation. For that, we were attacked and accused of propagating “conspiracy theories” or “misinformation.” Now, the possibility that the virus originated from a lab leak has been widely accepted as a valid theory by the United States and other western governments as well as by many scientists including former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield.

The CBC—whose interviewee for their last hit piece on us later told The Epoch Times that the CBC was pursuing “narrative-driven” reporting (read more here)—has inaccurately reported that we are covering “the QAnon conspiracy theory.” CBC is insinuating that QAnon has been a focus for us, while CBC itself has covered it much more than we have.

A quick search for “QAnon” on Jan. 29 on the CBC.ca website showed 251 results. A search on the New York Times website showed 578 results. A search on TheEpochTimes.com website showed 53 results, far fewer than CBC or the New York Times. In the early days of the QAnon phenomenon, we had just two articles about it. Later on, as this issue was covered more widely by other media, we also had more coverage, such as “Twitter suspends over 70,000 QAnon accounts,” etc.

Canada is a country that values freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Canada Post and its related government ministry have indicated that delivery of Epoch Times is subject to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canada Post has rightly stood by its mandate.

In recognition of our outstanding reporting, our publisher was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Our early coverage of the SARS outbreak earned our Chinese edition a national award from the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada. Our reporters have won numerous awards by the Society of Professional Journalists and the New York Press Association.

In reporting the facts and truth, we may contradict some commonly accepted narrative. In the face of constant attacks and harassment from the Chinese regime in the last 20 years and some recent competitor media’s biased and false reports, we persist in what we do because we believe in the truth, and believe that the people deserve to know the truth.

Precisely because readers like our fact-based, honest reporting, we have been growing very fast. Readers often use words like “truth,” and “integrity” to describe our reporting, and praise us for being objective and “letting readers make up their own mind.” Please read more reader testimonials by clicking here.

Reading The Epoch Times can be a liberating experience. We invite you to read our sample edition, or take us up on our special offer of a one-month trial of print and digital subscription for only $1 by visiting ReadEpoch.ca —and find out for yourself what we are all about.

Below are a few of our statements in response to earlier, misleading reports by CBC, NBC, and The New York Times

New York Times’ 8-Month-Long ‘Investigation’ of The Epoch Times: Light on Facts, Heavy on Bias

CBC Intentionally Excludes Crucial Facts About Epoch Times and Our Coverage of Beijing’s Coverup of Virus Outbreak

Due to CBC’s Past Bias, Epoch Times Publishes Its Response to Broadcaster’s Inquiry

Why NBC, MSNBC’s Reporting on The Epoch Times Is Textbook Fake News