Gan Jing World
Video sharing platform affiliated with Falun Gong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gan Jing World (Chinese: 乾净世界) is a video-sharing and streaming platform founded in 2022 by practitioners of Falun Gong. Headquartered in Middletown, New York, it is closely associated with the right-wing news organization The Epoch Times.[1]
Type of site | Video sharing platform |
|---|---|
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Headquarters | Middletown, New York, United States |
| Owner | Ganjingworld Corporation |
| URL | www |
| Launched | July 4, 2022 |
In addition to Falun Gong-related content, the site also hosts videos taken from YouTube without the consent or awareness of the original creator. In December 2024, YouTube filed a lawsuit against Gan Jing World over this issue.
Background
Falun Gong,[a] also called Falun Dafa,[b] is a new religious movement founded by Li Hongzhi in China in the early 1990s. The movement was built on interest in qigong with additional religious and moralistic dimensions. Central to Falun Gong is the concept of the "Fa", which Li describes as the Fundamental law of the universe that has existed for hundreds of millions of years. He claims to have developed abilities and insights that allowed him to understand and align with this law, and that he was the first person to reveal it to humanity.[3][4] Falun Gong has its global headquarters in Dragon Springs, a 173-hectare (427-acre) compound in Deerpark, New York, United States, near the residence of Li.[5][6][7][8]
Platform
The official website of Falun Gong, Minghui.org, has encouraged people to engage with the website. The site's Falun Gong-related content, such as videos of Shen Yun dance performances and New Tang Dynasty Television media, account for the majority of engagement on the site. Gan Jing World's videos are presented as following a "no violence, no pornography, no crime, and no drugs" policy.[1]
According to the Columbia Journalism Review and Intelligencer, Gan Jing World's other videos are often taken directly from YouTube without the consent or knowledge of the original creators. This includes copyrighted work. A former employee of another Falun Gong-affiliated media group, Epoch Times, has alleged that they were encouraged to pseudonymously repost content to Gan Jing World.[1][9] 404 Media reported in March 2024 that Gan Jing World was not hosting these reposted videos directly, but was linking to embedded videos on YouTube's servers. YouTube described this as a violation of their terms-of-service which harmed creators, and issued a cease and desist letter to Gan Jing World.[10] Following this letter, Gan Jing World only removed channels which were provided as examples in the letter without changing its practices. In April, YouTube sent a second letter, with Gan Jing World again removing examples while denying an wrongdoing. In December 2024, YouTube sued Gan Jing World, alleging mass copying of content for commercial purposes, and violation of California unfair competition laws.[11] As of April 2025, the lawsuit was ongoing, with Gan Jing World accusing opposing lawyer Wilson Sonsini of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati of being a "Chinese puppet", which Sonsini described as a baseless conspiracy theory which was "beneath the dignity of the bar".[12]
The site also offers members only content, a paid course, and sells books about Falun Gong.[9][13]
Headquarters
The company's primary facility is located at 33 Fulton Street in Middletown, New York.[14] The organization and the property are part of a network of Falun Gong-affiliated companies and organizations in the town, including New Tang Dynasty television, Epoch Times, and the Shen Yun performing arts group.[9]
Notes
- /ˈdɑːfə/ DAH-fə; lit. 'Dharma Wheel Practice'