Epoch Times, California Policy Center, and Anti-Public School Propaganda
Who’s doing propaganda in your community? We’ve covered far-right money-laundering media conglomerate Epoch Times and their role in pushing reactionary extremist content, but let’s do a deep dive into their local imprint “CA Insider” and its connection to the extremist (pro-voucher, pro-school privatization) California Policy Center.
CA Insider includes a YouTube channel, social media accounts, and a webpage where their video content is hosted (important backup since the YouTube channel has been removed at least once for violating terms of service, more on that below). The outlet is listed as a 501C3. It also regularly features people connected to the California Policy Center (CPC).
CA Insider is a 501(c)3 according to their website disclaimer.
CA Insider has a native website made to look like a traditional newspaper- even claiming in the to be an “independent news source.” However, they are identified as being part of Epoch Media Group. On the Epoch site, CA Insider is presented as a state-focused imprint.
The branding and design of CA Insider is designed to resemble a legitimate local news source, but a scroll through the CA Insider Instagram grid reveals a major focus on anti-lgbtq+, anti-union, anti-public school attacks in California. All of these issues are aligned with the California Policy Center platform. It appears that CA Insider exists solely to elevate these propaganda-laced stories in social media feeds. For example, we see anti-trans activist Erin Friday, fired Christian Nationalist teacher Jessica Tapia, & far-right sheriff Chad Blanco appear interspersed with content about crime waves, cartels, and Californians moving to Texas.
GUSD Parents for Public Schools first called attention to CA Insider when local reactionary candidate Aneta Krpekyan was interviewed along with city council member Ara Najarian— both repeating anti-lgbtq+ anti-public school disinformation - actual lies about curriculum in GUSD that simply did not exist. The Najarian/Krpekyan CA Insider YouTube video led to the removal of the entire CA Insider channel for Terms of Service violations.
CA Insider also has an opinion imprint- CA Insider Opinion. This week, we noticed they’d posted an interview with CA Policy Center President Will Swaim, focused on AB1955 (the SAFETY Act). This is the bill which will ban dangerous forced outing policies in California public schools. This legislation is a direct result of the need to protect student safety as a result of far-right anti-LGBTQ incursions into public school governance in places like Chino Valley and Temecula.
CA Insider’s relentless focus on the SAFETY Act issue, along with the presence of the high-level extremist Swaim stood out- we know Chino Valley BOE president Sonja Shaw has appeared on CA Insider multiple times. We have already covered ties to local reactionaries and their pet issues; our original take was simply that the outlet is right-wing propaganda. On looking deeper, however, we have found substantial and consistent connections to the extremist California Policy Center and the issues and figures they elevate. We’ve noted content elevating Sonja Shaw, Jessica Tapia, Aneta Krpekyan, Ara Najarian, and Erin Friday. California Policy Center President Will Swaim is featured in 3 videos on CA Insider Opinion.
Chino Valley Unified, Sonja Shaw and their forced outing policy get repeated positive coverage on CA Insider — with a recent post also featuring SPLC-designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate group CA Family Council’s Greg Burt, book banner Karen England, and Jack Hibbs’ Christian nationalist activist Gina Gleason. Gloria Romero, former CPC staff member is a repeat guest, as are right wing figures like aforementioned Chad Bianco, Alex Villanueva, Heritage Foundation funded-Golden State Policy Council president Melissa Melendez & radio host/losing gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder.
While a right-wing propaganda outlet featuring the same familiar extremist figures over and over to stoke panic in social media feeds is no surprise at this point, the recent news of Epoch Times massive money laundering allegations (never mind the far right anti-Communist Falun Gong cult it’s connected to) raises a lot of questions, including:
How did Epoch pay for a lease in a 26,000 sq. ft. office building in Irvine? Local leaders Mayor Tammy Kim, Assemblymember Laurie Davies, CA Policy Center’s Director of the Center for Public Accountability John Moorlach, and Orange County BOE Member and CPC’s CLEO director (and pro-voucher scammer) Mari Barke all attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Why is a scandal-ridden, cult-connected propaganda channel collaborating so closely with California’s most reactionary politicians and the policy/lobbying organizations who back them- most notably the dark-money funded/connected CA Policy Center and CA Family Council?
Are there financial or other formal ties between the CPC and Epoch/CA Insider? Will CA Insider be impacted by the criminal investigations into Epoch Times and its leadership?
Lastly, with CA Insider appearing to act as a propaganda outlet for right wing political aims in CA, are there other state-level imprints doing the same work in other states? California may be the first target for Epoch’s global goals, but it’s unlikely it’s the only one.
If you see Epoch activity or channels which look related in your area, please let us know. There seem to be highly coordinated efforts to control narratives around homophobic/transphobic, anti-public school, anti-union efforts between right wing organizations & media outlets like Epoch.
Despite all the money and slickly produced media, these efforts continue to face mounting losses from actual public school communities and their allies. Erin Friday’s anti-trans ballot initiative failed, Aneta Krpekyan lost her election, Ara Najarian was barred from the mayorship, and the CA legislature is poised to protect LGBTQ+ students by state law.