The Epoch Times began publishing in 2000 from the basement of its sole editor, a graduate student named John Tang. A decade or so later, it had become a free newspaper that mainly carried stories of interest to the Chinese American community. Today it’s a burgeoning conservative media juggernaut, with an online reach greater than outlets like the Daily Caller and Newsmax and almost $130 million of tax-free revenue a year.

Behind the publication’s success is its close association with Falun Gong, a new religious movement that has faced repression from the Chinese government since its founding in the early 1990s.

Falun Gong followers see their founder, Li Hongzhi, as a kind of deity, and they have a dangerous aversion to modern medicine, which, according to former Falun Gong adherents, has tragically led to some adherents dying from treatable conditions after choosing not to seek help. Falun Gong is also extremely anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-feminist, and opposed to interracial coupling.