By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-29 23:22:03 | Updated at 2026-09-30 02:25:54
3 hours ago
PALO ALTO, Calif.—Epoch Times’ leaders talked about the value of truthful information and what it takes to be independent at an insider forum on Sept. 24 at Baylands Golf Links in the Bay Area city.
The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 in Atlanta by a group of Chinese Americans who fled communism in pursuit of freedom.
The media group started as a Chinese newspaper to bring truthful and uncensored information into and out of China, and now has become one of the
fastest-growing media companies in the United States, publishing in 22 languages across 35 countries.
“Access to timely, truthful information is so important to help people to make important decisions and sometimes can save lives,” said Dr. Samuel Zhou, CEO of The Epoch Times.
For example, in 2003, The Epoch Times and its sister media New Tang Dynasty Television reported on the SARS outbreak in China weeks before the Chinese communist regime acknowledged it.
A U.S. high school that had planned to send its students to China postponed the trip, and the staff shared their gratitude for receiving critical information through the report, Zhou said.
Another case was in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when The Epoch Times reported that there was an unnamed dangerous outbreak spreading in China and taking many lives.
Many travelers got information early from the report and changed their schedule, and some people purchased medical equipment before the full danger was widely understood, according to Zhou.
Epoch Times CEO Dr. Samuel Zhou speaks at the Insider Forum in Palo Alto on Sept. 24, 2026. Lear Zhou/The Epoch Times
As a nonprofit organization, 90 percent of The Epoch Times’s business cost is covered from approximately 1 million subscriptions, according to Epoch Times CFO William Cheung. Only about half of the other 10 percent comes from donations.
“Free press, as you know, it’s not exactly free,” Cheung said. “Being independent is the challenge!”
Cheung listed some of the challenges the nonprofit is facing: An Epoch Times YouTube channel, which generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue per month, was demonetized in early 2021; Facebook, which used to promote new subscriptions, decided to stop working with the media at roughly the same time; and people report that it’s hard to find an exclusive in-depth story by The Epoch Times in a Google search.
“We truly believe in free-flow information, that information allows you to make your own decision,” Cheung said. “But nowadays, it’s getting harder to combine. It tends to be more polarized, it tends to have a lot of people try to convince you what to think, what to do, and we’re doing things otherwise.”
When asked in the Q&A who was behind the challenges faced by The Epoch Times, Cheung said he believes the newspaper reported something that at the time was not well-received and perhaps was seen as inaccurate by some people.
Epoch Times CFO William Cheung speaks at the Insider Forum in Palo Alto. Lear Zhou/The Epoch Times
One example was the origin of the COVID-19 virus. A documentary by The Epoch Times reported the virus possibly originated from a biolab leak in Wuhan, China, instead of from nature as some experts thought in the early stage of the pandemic.
A poster on the wall read “The Epoch Times Covering News Other Media Ignore.”
“California Insider” host Siyamak Khorrami said half of his audience is from outside California. “Whether it’s other states or other countries, they want to know what we’re doing, how we’re doing it. California is a very special place.”
“Now where we are taking our work is toward more discussions, including different perspectives, thinking critically, starting to think more critically instead of getting emotional,” said Khorrami, who also leads the Southern California edition of the paper.
Steve Ispas, senior reporter and “Bay Area Innovators” host, shared his experience in investigative reporting on the story of who’s behind the mysterious laboratory found in Reedley, a small town in California’s Central Valley.
He said he was excited when the team found the connection between the laboratory and legal cases in Canada after weeks of researching, but Epoch Times Editor-in-Chief Jasper Fakkert requested more sources.
“I said, this is our story, we got to publish before other media does, and he pulled a Ben Bradlee comment on me,” said Ispas, referring to the former executive editor of the Washington Post during the Watergate scandal who challenged Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward to find more sources for the story.
Senior reporter Steve Ispas shares the experience of investigative reporting at The Epoch Times Insider Forum in Palo Alto on Sep. 24. Lear Zhou/The Epoch Times
The next morning, Ispas studied his computer screen with over 40 browser tabs open, with all the information he had found, trying to find another connection the chief editor had requested.
“I knew there’s a connection. It had to be between Canada and California, but I couldn’t find it,” Ispas said. Then he notice one item, numbered as 319, deep in a court file from the Supreme Court of British Columbia, which said when Jiabei “Jesse” Zhu left Canada, he was advancing plans to open a location in Tulare County, California.
“That’s exactly what we’re looking for. That’s what our chief editor was looking for, for that kind of proof, and not just to say yes, that’s the same guy,” Ispas said.
The Epoch Times published the in-depth article just four hours before Jiabei Zhu was arrested.
Free Now Foundation President Alix Mayer (R) chats with California Insider host Siyamak Khorrami (C) and a guest. Lear Zhou/The Epoch Times
“This is definitely an organization to support, because I didn’t realize that the support came outside of the subscriptions and that 10 percent of your support currently comes from donations,” forum attendee Alix Mayer told The Epoch Times after the event.
“I commend you and Epoch Times for everything you’ve done to get the truth out about vaccine dangers and freedom of speech and many, many other things,” said Mayer, board chair and president of Free Now Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to mitigating school mandates for vaccines that it says have caused injuries to children.
Ben Narasin, the founder and general partner at Tenacity Venture Capital, told The Epoch Times, “I had a great afternoon with the folks of Epoch Times and learned a lot about what it takes to survive as a free, independent voice in a world that doesn’t want you to be free and independent.”
“I would love to see more retail outreach about what Epoch Times is all about: truth, tradition, honesty, transparency,” former San Francisco District 7 Supervisor Tony Hall told The Epoch Times, “That’s what the young people need and want to hear regardless of what their political stance is.”
“Everybody needs that, and it’s all wrapped up with Epoch Times,” Hall added.
