In order to intensify its efforts to clamp down on Falun Gong practitioners and other disenfranchised groups in China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is leveraging state institutions, covert agents, and global disinformation campaigns to manipulate public opinion and suppress dissent, new investigations and leaked reports find.
The operations showcase the CCP’s systematic efforts to manipulate narratives, control international perceptions, and undermine groups it deems threatening to its authority both within China and on the global stage.
At the heart of this campaign lies a network of state-owned “pawns” and foreign-facing propaganda efforts including The Beijing Dance Academy (BDA) and China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) as they leverage their influence and resources to spread falsehoods both within and beyond China’s borders.
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Long embedded ties
The BDA — a state-owned art institute — has been directly linked to CCP propaganda efforts for many years. Ostensibly an educational institution, the BDA actually operates as an arm of the regime’s broader ideological machinery behind closed doors. According to research by the Falun Dafa Information Center, the academy’s leadership is almost entirely composed of CCP members, with many holding dual roles both within the school and the Party Committee.
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“Foreign universities, dance programs, and journalists need to be aware of what they are engaging with when dealing with BDA,” the Center warned, noting that the academy “intentionally downplays” its Party connections in its English-language training brochures and materials. Despite these efforts, evidence points to the CCP’s priorities heavily influencing BDA’s actions, particularly within its role in spreading misinformation about Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Shen Yun Performing Arts — a classical Chinese dance company with a mission to revive China’s traditional culture — has been a consistent target of CCP disinformation. Based in New York, the performing arts company currently has eight equally-sized troupes that tour and perform around the world simultaneously.
Considered the world’s premier classical Chinese and music company in the world, Shen Yun has long been a thorn on the CCP’s side for raising awareness on the many human rights occurring under the regime.
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A global smear campaign
At the center of the CCP’s latest disinformation efforts is Chen Yixin, head of the Ministry of State Security (MSS). A recent leak from within the regime names Chen as the driving force behind a reinvigorated campaign to undermine Falun Gong and its affiliated organizations on the global stage.
According to the source, Chen’s ambitions to curry favor with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, led him to prioritize the “elimination” of Falun Gong as a way to bolster his political standing.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual practice that has been relentlessly targeted and persecuted by the CCP since 1999. According to Minghui, a U.S.-based website that documents the persecution, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have perished at the hands of Chinese police for refusing to renounce their faith, with the real number estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions.
According to the Falun Dafa Information Center, which documented the escalation of these tactics, disinformation campaigns have sought to manipulate public opinion and government perspectives, particularly within the U.S. These campaigns have included false narratives spread by social media influencers, misleading articles in major news outlets, and even fake bomb threats targeting Shen Yun performances.
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One anonymous source described the operation as “a systematic and complete plan” orchestrated by Chinese security agencies. “Every step of the way, there are public security and national security [agents] behind the manipulation,” the source revealed. The goal, they added, is to create chaos, sow discord, and discredit Falun Gong by planting falsehoods in foreign media to leverage unwitting intermediaries.
The role of ‘pawns’ to fuel disinformation
One of the CCP’s most insidious tactics is its ability to exploit individuals outside China by turning them into unwitting agents of disinformation. According to the leaked information, a U.S.-based YouTuber has been used by the MSS to disseminate anti-Falun Gong content. While the individual may not be directly affiliated with the CCP, they have reportedly become a “pawn,” by publishing material provided by Chinese agents without questioning its source.
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“Social media influencers and even professional journalists can inadvertently contribute to the CCP’s agenda by sharing information that originates from MSS agents,” said Levi Browde, Executive Director of the Falun Dafa Information Center. “These latest details show how adept the regime can be at manipulating those outside China to act on its behalf.”
The revelations surrounding the BDA and MSS highlight the CCP’s sophisticated approach to controlling narratives and silencing dissent. By embedding Party operatives in educational institutions, manipulating foreign media, and leveraging covert networks, the CCP has created a disinformation apparatus with far-reaching consequences.
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