X Removes Thousands of Bot Accounts Attacking Falun Gong, UN Official Stops Chinese Diplomat from Silencing Falun Gong Speaker

Dear Reader,

The social media platform X has taken down a network of thousands of bot accounts that were amplifying anti–Falun Gong and anti–Shen Yun narratives. The bots were used to boost at least 10 questionable New York Times (NYT) articles, including a Chinese-language attack piece that became the most shared NYT article on X in over a year.

Analysis revealed that most of the accounts had few or no followers, indicating bot activity. This coordinated disinformation campaign, linked to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)-backed propaganda efforts targeting Falun Gong and Shen Yun, underscores the need for vigilant policy enforcement in curbing digital manipulation.

Also in this issue:

• Four women were imprisoned in Sichuan province for sharing information about Falun Gong despite judicial irregularities.

• Coordinated death threats have targeted film screenings in Taiwan, as well as local government officials.

• Falun Gong practitioners spoke at the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the CCP’s persecution and forced organ harvesting, despite an attempt by a Chinese diplomat to silence one of them.

• The mother and wife of Australian residents who is jailed in China was referenced in a new human rights report.

To wrap it up, we are sharing one of my interviews with NTD News last year. In this interview I discussed the significance of the U.S. House of Representatives passing the Falun Gong Protection Act (FGPA). Notably, on March 3, 2025, the FGPA was reintroduced in the 119th Congress by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the Senate and Congressman Scott Perry (R-PA) in the House of Representatives, with over a dozen bipartisan cosponsors.

FEATURE STORY

Photo by The Epoch Times/Edited by Faluninfo

What’s new? 

In February and March, the social media platform X removed a network of thousands of bot accounts that were promoting anti–Falun Gong and anti–Shen Yun content. Among other information, the accounts were used to boost at least 10 questionable New York Times articles that attacked Shen Yun and Falun Gong—eight of which appeared in the Chinese-language edition. Most of the bot accounts had few or no followers—a key indicator of fake accounts—with fewer than 6 percent having more than 50 followers. On average, more than 70 percent of the accounts that shared the NYT articles on X had fewer than 10 followers. By comparison, for other NYT articles that have gained traction on X, the number is around 2 percent. One example of the impact of the bot network was how one Chinese-language piece attacking Shen Yun became the most shared NYT article on X in over a year, with over 28,000 shares.

The network was initially discovered by The Epoch Times, with data collected using BuzzSomo, a social media analytics tool. The accounts were taken down after the investigation findings were shared with the platform and it conducted its own further analysis.

Why does it matter? 

Such inauthentic behavior points to a coordinated disinformation campaign that effectively amplified inaccurate reporting aimed at discrediting groups exposing the CCP’s human rights abuses. One cybersecurity expert said that the campaign looked like a “nation-state automated bot attack.” The network’s existence and activity fit with tactics outlined by CCP whistleblowers in leaked notes from internal meetings that cited the use of social media to defame Falun Gong.

What else do you need to know? 

Many of the fake accounts were set up in about April 2024 or later and only posted or reposted anti-Falun Gong content. Some of the profile pictures used appeared to be computer generated, others stolen or purchased from the internet. In many cases, they used images of young women. Sometimes, they also posted content praising China or the CCP or attacking other Chinese dissidents.

The takedown highlights the urgent need for vigilant enforcement by social media platforms to detect and remove fake accounts that amplify preferred CCP narratives. In its August 2024 report Weaponizing Social Media, the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC) warned that one tactic to watch for would be fake accounts amplifying anti-Falun Gong propaganda.

PERSECUTION IN CHINA

On February 11, 2025, the Chongzhou City Court sentenced four female Falun Gong practitioners to prison terms ranging from 2 years to 4.5 years, according to Weiquanwang, a website that aggregates reports of abuse from human rights defenders across China.

The women were jailed for distributing materials in March 2024 about Falun Gong and the brutal rights abuses faced by practitioners. The charges had no legal basis. Court-appointed lawyers were dismissed, and family members who attempted to defend the practitioners were either restricted or barred from participating. The hearing was marred by repeated interruptions and dismissive responses from the judge when the legal basis for the charges was challenged. Previously, two of the Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Li and Ms. Meng had endured years of detention and brutal abuse. Their cases highlight severe violations of due process and freedom of expression in China.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION

The threatening messages use the same email address, [email protected], and target the Tainan City Council in Taiwan, which screens State Organs, and the San Jose Performing Arts Center in America, which hosts Shen Yun performances.

Between October 2024 and January 2025, Taiwanese media and documentary producer reported over 80 death threats directed at entities in Taiwan associated with screenings of the film State Organs. The targets included theaters as well as local city councils, police bureaus, and the president Lai Ching-Te. This award-winning film, released in 2024, documents the CCP’s state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting, a practice that has been affirmed by independent investigations, including the 2019 China Tribunal chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC. The tribunal concluded that forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience—primarily Falun Gong practitioners—has been committed “beyond reasonable doubt.”

The FDIC reviewed records of these threatening messages, noting a chilling similarity to transnational repression tactics used in the United States against Shen Yun, the American classical Chinese dance company founded by Falun Gong practitioners. According to the center’s Transnational Repression Incident Tracker, the CCP has engaged in a sustained campaign of threats, harassment, and intimidation targeting Falun Gong practitioners and affiliated organizations worldwide.

NEWS

At the ongoing 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, two Falun Gong practitioners exposed and called for an end to the CCP’s forced organ harvesting and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Mr. Lebin Ding, representing the Society for Threatened Peoples, detailed decades-long state repression, citing grim statistics and international support—including backing from European officials. Ding’s own father is currently imprisoned in China for practicing Falun Gong. Ding’s statement was interrupted by a Chinese delegate, who attempted to silence his remarks, but UNHRC Vice President Tareq Md Ariful Islam rejected the motion. Ms. Kayan Wong, speaking on behalf of Global Human Rights Defence, decried the systematic cover-up of these crimes and urged global accountability and transparency of China’s transplant system.

In June 2024, the FDIC reported on the case of a mother of a Melbourne family. Ms. Jiang Yongqin, a Falun Gong practitioner from Jilin City, was arrested during a home raid on June 12, 2022, along with her elderly mother and young daughter—though the latter were later released. Enduring brutal torture and sexual assault, she was secretly sentenced on January 24, 2024, to five years in prison for refusing to renounce her faith. To escape persecution, her husband, Mr. Xiong Qi, and their two daughters relocated to Australia. In Melbourne, they held a press conference in August 2022 outside the Chinese Consulate, demanding justice and calling for Ms. Jiang’s immediate release.

Ms. Jiang’s case was referenced in a recent annual report by the U.S.-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD).

In an interview with NTD News, Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, discusses the significance of the U.S. House of Representatives passing the Falun Gong Protection Act (FGPA), the first bill to specifically address the rights abuses faced by Falun Gong practitioners in China. Although this interview took place last June, the FGPA—which did not become law in the previous Congress—was reintroduced during the 119th Congress on March 3. We invite you to watch again the analysis of this significant legislation.