Did The New York Times Crown a CCP Mouthpiece?
Before we even get to media bias, we need to confront a deeper, systemic concern: the quiet pipeline of Chinese nationals flooding into American universities, often under programs that demand loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party—even while abroad. Case in point: New York Times reporter Nicole Hong, a graduate of Northwestern University, now writing CCP-aligned hit pieces against Shen Yun, a New York-based performing arts troupe the regime despises.
Is Hong consciously doing the CCP’s bidding? That’s unknown. But her reporting clearly mirrors Beijing’s disdain for Shen Yun, which seeks to revive traditional Chinese culture and expose the horrors of Communist repression. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s a case study in how foreign influence takes root in elite U.S. institutions—just as America prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence.
As tensions mount over U.S.–China relations and concerns grow over Chinese influence within American borders, a startling case is coming into sharper focus: New York Times reporter Nicole Hong, a Northwestern University graduate, has penned critical reporting on Shen Yun, the performing arts company created by Falun Gong practitioners in exile. But what hasn’t been disclosed? Her father’s deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, through his position at a CCP-affiliated university.
Falun Dafa spokesmen Levi Browde, Leeshai Lemish, and Ben Maloney are available immediately to discuss what this means for media integrity, foreign influence, and U.S. national security. Nicole Hong’s coverage isn’t happening in a vacuum—it’s occurring while trade concessions between the U.S. and China continue to allow tens of thousands of Chinese nationals to attend U.S. universities. The result? A soft-power pipeline that allows CCP ideology to quietly embed itself into the highest echelons of American media, academia, and policymaking.
Nicole Hong provides the perfect case study in how that system functions. She holds a top-tier journalism degree from Northwestern, works for the most influential newspaper in the country, and is now writing CCP-style hit pieces on Shen Yun—a performance troupe the regime has long tried to silence because it promotes spiritual freedom and revives traditional Chinese culture.
What message does this send? While Shen Yun artists flee persecution and censorship, American institutions are giving platforms to those with familial links to the very regime orchestrating that repression. The issue isn’t just bias—it’s infiltration.
As the U.S. faces existential questions about security, identity, and sovereignty, Falun Dafa voices can provide urgent clarity on what’s really happening—and what’s at stake.
Falun Dafa experts can provide on-camera insight into how this story illustrates CCP tactics that go far beyond borders—using familial ties, ideological infiltration, and silent influence to wage a war on freedom that is unfolding in our own backyard.
Browde and Lemish can expose this collusion, explain the ideology behind it, and warn about what’s next if America doesn’t wake up. Book them now—before the next cultural front becomes a physical battlefield.
Schedule an interview with Falun Dafa spokesman today!!
Relevant Article(s)
CCP-Style Messaging on Shen Yun Surfaces in New York Times Reporting | NTD
How the CCP pays influencers to attack Falun Gong and Shen Yun | Blaze Media
Nicole Hong’s Profile | The New York Times Journalist | Muck Rack
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- What concerns do you have about Nicole Hong’s reporting on Shen Yun, given her father’s ties to a CCP-linked university?
- Do you believe The New York Times disclosed enough about potential conflicts of interest in this case?
- How does the CCP use family connections abroad to influence media narratives or public opinion in the West?
- What is the broader significance of Chinese nationals studying at U.S. universities in such large numbers?
- Is the targeting of Shen Yun part of a coordinated strategy by the CCP to suppress cultural resistance movements?
- Why does the Chinese regime feel so threatened by Shen Yun’s performances and Falun Gong’s message?
- How can Americans identify when a media outlet may be echoing CCP propaganda—knowingly or not?
- As the U.S. approaches its 250th birthday, how does Shen Yun’s mission mirror America’s founding fight for freedom?
ABOUT LEVI BROWDE…
Levi Browde serves as the Executive Director with the New York-based Falun Dafa Information Center – an organization dedicated to ending the human rights abuses against people who practice Falun Gong in China.
A career software entrepreneur, Levi’s life changed dramatically in 1999 when his best friend came to the office one morning and announced the Chinese Communist Party had taken away his mother in Beijing to be tortured and “brainwashed.” This marked the beginning of his volunteer work to defend human rights in China. Two years later, Levi himself was detained in a Chinese jail outside Beijing for secretly meeting with Western reporters and protesting on Tiananmen Square.
Over the past 20 years, Browde has been interviewed and quoted by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, CNN, the Associated Press, TIME Magazine, BBC, AFP, and other media outlets. He has spoken about Falun Gong and human rights in China at briefings on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, at the United Nations human rights sessions in Geneva, Switzerland.
Browde studied East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University and is an avid supporter of traditional Chinese culture. He founded several software start-ups, and lives in New York with his wife and two sons.
Samples of Levi on camera:
https://tv.faluninfo.net/unmasking-chinas-gestapo-610-office/
https://tv.faluninfo.net/levi-browde-exposes-the-new-york-times-distorted-coverage-of-human-rights/
ABOUT LEESHAI LEMISH…
Leeshai Lemish has been with Shen Yun for 18 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Chinese history and language from Pomona College, California, and his master’s in international relations from the London School of Economics. He has spent extended periods studying, working, and conducting research throughout East Asia, and has authored articles on Chinese current affairs in both English and Chinese. He joined Shen Yun Performing Arts as an MC when the company was founded in 2006 and has since emceed close to two thousand performances with the company, taking the stage with Shen Yun at prestigious theaters such as Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, the London Coliseum, Tokyo Opera City, and many others worldwide. In addition to his performance role, he has tracked and documented on his website over 100 cases of the Chinese Communist Party and its agents trying to sabotage Shen Yun internationally. He has testified on transnational repression in front of Congress, has been a featured guest on television and radio shows around the world, and is the host of the podcast Shen Yun Voices.
ABOUT BEN MALONEY…
Ben Maloney is a digital marketing and software veteran with over a decade of experience in those industries. He brings expertise to help online advocacy efforts and co-hosts Falun Dafa Information Center’s podcast, The Falun Gong Bulletin. He has been a volunteer for the center since 2015 in his role as Director of Digital Outreach. Ben lives in New York with his wife and son.
CONTACT: Todd Baumann at 512-966-0983 or by email Jerry McGlothlin at bookings@specialguests.com.