Nadene Goldfoot
It is, frankly, really weird how The Epoch Times came to be what it is today. The paper was originally founded in 2000 to promote the interests of an obscure, heavily persecuted Chinese religious group known as “Falun Gong.” Falun Gong is a very conservative religion and many of its teachings seem very backwards to western progressives. For instance, it teaches that homosexuality is inherently immoral. It also teaches that there is a different heaven for each race and that the production of interracial children is indicative of the approaching End of the World.
Falun Gong is not opposed to modern science per se, but it regards science as a deeply flawed and limited way of understanding the world. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, has repeatedly criticized science, portraying scientists as arrogant and blind to the true nature of reality. He has also repeatedly criticized the idea of evolution and has cited pseudoscientific claims about archaeological discoveries supposedly dating back millions of years as evidence that evolution is not real.
Li Hongzhi has also taught that extraterrestrial beings are actively involved in human affairs, that these extraterrestrials can shapeshift to impersonate humans, and that many of the technologies we use today were invented by extraterrestrials as part of an evil plot to take over the world. 
As bizarre as their beliefs may seem, Falun Gong practitioners are and were genuinely persecuted in China and have been subjected to ruthless crack-downs. Many have been forced into reeducation programs. The Epoch Times, for most of its history of existence, was mainly focused on bringing attention to the persecution of members of Falun Gong. It rarely ever reported on United States politics and, when it did, it was usually only in cases in which U.S. politics overlapped with Chinese politics. 
Trump at his rally in Georgia, a revival of sorts.
All that changed in 2016 when The Epoch Times suddenly became one of the foremost promoters of pro-Trump propaganda. It is still owned by members of Falun Gong and its mission is still to promote the interests of Falun Gong, but its owners have apparently decided (for some reason) that Donald Trump’s interests are aligned with those of Falun Gong, so they have begun to almost fanatically promote him and his agendas.
It is possible that Trump’s anti-China rhetoric is the main reason why The Epoch Times has come to believe his interests are aligned with theirs, since the government of the People’s Republic of China is currently persecuting members of Falun Gong. In any case, whatever the reason for it may be, The Epoch Times is now one of the most devoted pro-Trump publications out there.
Believe it or not, it gets even more bizarre. The Epoch Times is one of several outlets owned by the Epoch Media Group, which promotes all kinds of conspiracy theories and pro-right-wing propaganda. The Epoch Media Group’s massively popular YouTube channel “Edge of Wonder,” which has over 375,000 subscribers, has promoted some of the most absurd conspiracy theories known to man.
"One conspiracy that they have vigorously and repeatedly promoted is QAnon. If you have not heard of QAnon, here is the gist of it: According to supporters of QAnon, the world is secretly ruled by an international cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. These Satan-worshipping pedophiles supposedly include major foreign leaders, all Democratic politicians, all mainstream journalists and new network anchors, and even liberal Hollywood celebrities. The leaders of this cabal supposedly include Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and George Soros."
Publications and shows linked to The Epoch Times have promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory and spread distorted claims about voter fraud and the Black Lives Matter movement. QAnon is anti-Semitic. What QAnon does is build on centuries of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that put Jewish people at risk: thus, it creates anti-Semitism.
The YouTube channel “Edge of Wonder,” which is run by the Epoch Media Group has repeatedly promoted the conspiracy theory known as “QAnon,” which claims that Donald Trump is on a secret mission to thwart the secret cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles that supposedly rules the world and usher in an era of paradise on Earth. 
Supporters of QAnon say that the only one who is intelligent and powerful enough to stop this evil cabal of pedophile Satanists is Donald J. Trump. Supposedly, Trump and his administration are secretly plotting a coup against this evil cabal. Supposedly, the day will come when there will be an event known as “The Storm” when Trump will round up all the members and supporters of the cabal—which, if you recall, supposedly includes thousands of people—and throw them in the Guantanamo Bay prison. Then they say that Trump will usher in paradise on Earth.
If this whole thing sounds familiar, that is probably because it is basically a bizarre, secularized version of the story of the Christian apocalypse in which Donald Trump has replaced Jesus, “The Storm” has replaced the Second Coming and Judgement Day, the Guantanamo Bay prison has replaced Hell, and the Satan-worshipping pedophilic cabal of Democrats, mainstream journalists, and Hollywood celebrities have replaced Satan and his demons.
Another conspiracy theory that the Epoch Media Group has promoted is that all the victims from the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 are secretly still alive, but are working as slaves in an underground facility. 
"The Epoch Times is not a credible source of factual information, nor are any of its associated media outlets. They promote pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. Nothing they report can be trusted or taken at face value." One thing I have learned is to ask, "What's your source?" Without a credible source, PREFERABLY MANY SOURCES, it just might be "FAKE NEWS."
Here are some links to more in depth information about the Epoch Times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html
https://www.quora.com/How-credible-is-the-Epoch-Times-as-a-news-source
https://faluninfo.net/falun-gong-story-origins-how-the-persecution-started/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/qanon-is-an-old-form-of-anti-semitism-in-a-new-package-say-experts/
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