TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – United States media giant NBC has been accused of helping China’s cause by criticizing The Epoch Times, an English-language newspaper considered close to the Falun Gong.

The spat started when NBC News published a piece accusing the newspaper of buying a high amount of ads to express support for President Donald Trump. The allegations against The Epoch Times were repeated on a half-hour segment of an MSNBC news show hosted by popular media personality Rachel Maddow.

Striking back, The Epoch Times accused NBC of producing “fake news” and of playing into China’s hands by attacking victims of religious persecution by Beijing’s communist regime.

China is trying to influence media freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion inside the U.S., and NBC’s reports would only help it to achieve its aims, The Epoch Times charged.