Trump supporters' favorite new chat app has ties to shady Chinese 'spiritual movement': report

Supporters of former President Donald Trump are flocking to a new chat app that has ties to the shady Falun Gong spiritual movement that has been called a cult by critics.

Politico reports that mobile application SafeChat, which Trump supporters have started using in greater numbers as alternatives to major social media networks Facebook and Twitter, is linked to the Falon Gong movement, which staunchly supported Trump because of his confrontational attitude toward the Chinese government.

"According to a review of corporate records and online activity by Politico, SafeChat has close links to The Epoch Times, an English-language media outlet affiliated with Falun Gong," the publication writes. "It's part of a growing network of Falun Gong-affiliated media outlets that is creating its own far-right social media pipeline -- one that amplifies MAGA themes while promoting the agenda of groups dedicated to the ouster of the Chinese Communist Party."

Elise Thomas, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, tells Politico that Falun Gong's overall goal seems to be pushing MAGA fans into taking its own views of the Chinese Communist Party, which for decades has repressed Falun Gong followers.

"There's a concerted effort by anti-Chinese Communist Party voices to move right-wing voters and QAnon followers against China," she said. "The fact that people associated with the Falun Gong are trying to use SafeChat to tap into the MAGA-sphere is definitely concerning."