(Clearwisdom.net) I have read some articles on Clearwisdom.net about Falun Dafa practitioners achieving good results clarifying the facts via their local media. Certainly, practitioners in many areas outside of China have adopted this method, but I wanted to promote it further.
Teacher has emphasized the importance of the media. The Chinese Communist Party has created a big negative impact via its propaganda machine, and many people have become prejudiced against Dafa. We should turn the tables and use the media to stop the spread of CCP poisons.
Teacher said,
"It's because of the evil's slanderous propaganda that people have bad thoughts in their minds. When people become clearheaded, that's when those evil things are eliminated and disintegrate" ("Touring North America to Teach the Fa").
Since the effect of media is significant, we may need to have our own media. However, we should also use the existing, public media to clarify the facts. The advantages include the following:
1. Using the existing media can save a great deal of labor and resources. Because our own media are non-profit organizations, our funding and other resources are very limited.
2. The existing media already have a sizable audience. The purpose of our own media is to clarify the facts of Falun Dafa. However, publicizing Dafa practitioners' media requires much effort.
3. People tend to be more trusting toward existing media. People who have been influenced by the CCP's culture think that Falun Dafa's websites and media are biased. When ordinary people's media publish positive reports on Falun Dafa it will have a good result.
4. Many practitioners have stepped forward to clarify the facts, however, it would be better if we progressed even faster. Maybe each area should have a few practitioners promoting Falun Dafa through local media, so that the facts can rapidly reach many people.
5. The local media can also introduce Falun Dafa to non-Chinese people. Oftentimes we only focus on promoting Falun Dafa to Chinese, because there are a lot of Chinese practitioners. However, the Chinese comprise only a small portion of the population in most areas. We need to promote Falun Dafa locally to amplify the result. In the persecution the CCP has spent hefty sums of money to buy-out overseas (including Taiwanese) Chinese and Chinese-language media, because the CCP, too, has set its eyes on spreading news via local media.
6. Local media are an efficient channel to clarify the facts to people in areas where few practitioners reside.
7. Contacting existing media is truth clarification in its own right. Regardless of the outcome, every contact with media is an opportunity to clarify the facts.
8. We need to contact reliable and trustworthy media, for it is easier for people to be open to our message.
Now, I would like to suggest a few ways to implement the plan.
1. We can start out with small media outlets, perhaps health newspapers and newspapers for seniors. Small media also have a sizable audience. It is best if we can help all local media publish positive reports on Falun Dafa.
2. We should try to publish Dafa articles frequently to provide people an in-depth coverage of the persecution and the practice.
3. We should report from a variety of perspectives. Each person has different interests and is concerned with different issues. If our topic happens to concern a reader, it will be more attractive. Dafa encompasses everything and is related to different aspects of daily life.
4. We should provide our contact information so that interested people can procure more information on Falun Dafa or even start practicing.
Of course, there will be difficulties. However, Teacher once said:
"Also, you should realize the effect media has on the general public. It is extremely important in terms of people learning the truth about Dafa, saving the world's people, and exposing the evil; and, its influence is enormous." ( "To the Clear Harmony Website of Europe," in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Teacher has already pointed out the media's effect. We should pursue it now. Many local media may be waiting for our positive reports. Teacher has also said:
"When the persecution against us first started, all the world's media wanted to know what Falun Gong was about. But nobody was able to get positive materials, and they all copied what the lie-breeding media in China published. Of course, a lot of international media didn't do that intentionally--they had to report on it." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
Using existing media to clarify the facts is a very good approach.