9 Things Some Media Reports Get Wrong About Shen Yun
Alongside many fair articles and thousands of glowing reviews from audience members speaking on camera, some recent news pieces about Shen Yun have repeated a nearly identical sensationalist formula. They recycle long-debunked narratives and, knowingly or not, follow the disinformation playbook of the world’s most sophisticated propaganda machine.
What unites us at Shen Yun is the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa, the Buddhist-based meditation discipline that originated in China. For 26 years, Falun Dafa practitioners have been subjected to a brutal persecution campaign at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Our family and friends have been imprisoned, tortured, and murdered.
In response to the urgency of the persecution we stepped forward to call attention to it and to show what Chinese civilization looked like without communism. That is why Shen Yun exists—and why the CCP fears it.
Over the last few years, the CCP has escalated its attempts to discredit us. Unfortunately, in covering Shen Yun, some mainstream news pieces and social media videos have been echoing both Beijing-based disinformation and each other.
In an effort to set the record straight and provide journalists and influencers with the full picture, here are nine things media have been consistently getting wrong:
1. They source disproportionately
Some media reports elevate a handful of former performers whose accounts contradict the statements of hundreds of current and former members who describe overwhelmingly positive experiences with Shen Yun. Read a petition from 766 current and former performers calling the allegations against Shen Yun “gross distortions and false narratives about our work, our faith, and our way of life.”
2. They fail to scrutinize accusers
After leaving Shen Yun, several accusers later developed ties to Beijing Dance Academy, a CCP-run institution, and their narratives then changed dramatically. What is their motivation for seeking media attention and lawsuits now, a decade after leaving the company? Furthermore, elite dance training practices are mischaracterized as “abusive,” when, in fact, they are common across most professional dance disciplines.
3. Repeating disproven claims
a. The denial of medical treatment claim. This is blatantly false—performers receive standard medical treatment, including MRIs, surgeries, physical therapy, and ongoing care from partnered medical providers who are on campus regularly. What company wouldn’t want its dancers to be healthy? More on this.
b. The child labor claim. Over 85% of Shen Yun’s touring members are adults. Students under 18 perform with Shen Yun as part of a practicum program at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts. The practicum is part of a curriculum approved by the New York State Department of Education. This is an essential and indispensable immersive training opportunity for students aspiring to become top classical Chinese dancers or musicians. More on this.
c. The coercion claim. The reality is that performers freely audition, enroll voluntarily, and are free to leave at any time. For many, performing in Shen Yun is a lifelong dream. Sure, every year a small number leave for other endeavors. Some, including one accuser often quoted in media, actually tried to return to Shen Yun even after leaving. The growth and success of the company wouldn’t be possible if perfor mers weren’t happy to be here. Hear directly from students and performers.
4. They minimize the context and urgency of millions being persecuted
Shen Yun was created in response to a brutal religious persecution affecting tens of millions in China. These ongoing atrocities are not “alleged”—they are documented by the US State Department, Amnesty International, Freedom House, the EU, and others. Among our performers are people who were prisoners of conscience in China or lost parents to torture in Chinese prisons.
Learn why the persecution is happening in China today.
When Persecution Hits Home—over 90 Shen Yun performers and their families directly experienced it.
Congressional bill The Falun Gong Protection Act.
5. They downplay the CCP’s role in disinformation
Over the past three years, the CCP has dramatically escalated its disinformation efforts against Shen Yun. Beijing has paid influencers, planted media stories, used online bots, and instigated frivolous lawsuits. We have also experienced death and bomb threats, break-ins, vandalism, and espionage—all part of the CCP’s well-documented transnational repression in the US.
Read about leaked documents from China that outline the disinformation campaign.
Video: Why is Beijing Trying to Silence American Artists?
6. Instead of transparently showing our faith, they amplify the narrative of the regime that persecutes us
The essence of our Falun Dafa faith is self-improvement by living with honesty, kindness, and resilience. Rather than showing who Falun Dafa practitioners really are—ordinary people who meditate, work, raise families, and live normal lives—media sometimes echo the CCP’s “cult” framing by cherry-picking anecdotes and emphasizing supposed abnormality.
Some Western media have done this for over two decades, and the result is that our free press amplifies the CCP’s narrative that dehumanizes us. These portrayals are then often circulated in China and used to justify further persecution of our fellow believers. Irresponsible journalism has real human consequences.
Example of the New York Times bias in reporting on Falun Gong.
7. Emotional manipulation
Production choices—ominous music, gloomy visuals, loaded language like “compound,” and staged emotional pressure—are used to elicit sympathy for accusers while portraying performers as strange. We understand why this happens. Provocative stories sell. The story of success through faith and hard work is less exciting. But these are deliberate cinematic techniques, not neutral reporting.
8. They wrongly label Shen Yun’s beautiful campus as a ‘compound’
Our campus is located in the rolling hills of Orange County, NY, in a place called Dragon Springs, which is also home to Buddhist-style temple grounds, Fei Tian Academy of the Arts, and Fei Tian College (both schools are New York-registered and offer a full academic curriculum alongside elite arts training). Dragon Springs is not walled in, but rather, set amidst 400 acres of woodland, complete with a network of walking paths and exquisite Tang Dynasty-style architecture. While some students and staff live on campus, many live in the surrounding areas and commute to work at Dragon Springs each day. Learn more here.
9. The truth is: becoming an elite dancer takes hard work
World-class performance requires discipline, sacrifice, and resilience. Like elite athletes, Shen Yun performers train long hours, endure injuries and criticism, and reach for high standards. Excellence is demanding—and not for everyone.
Our takeaway
We are not perfect. Self-reflection and improvement are core to our beliefs, and we continually work to strengthen our training, management, and support systems. But the environment portrayed in these stories bears little resemblance to reality. Anyone who speaks directly with our performers will hear a very different story.
Responsible journalism requires balance, due diligence, and awareness of transnational repression. By failing to meet these standards, some media outlets end up misleading audiences, obscuring the full picture, and even discouraging serious concern for human rights in China.
Those who believe their framing will also miss out on experiencing a performance that audience members call inspiring, uplifting, and full of hope—one that shows both China before communism and the reality in China today.
And that’s exactly what the CCP wanted all along.
