(Minghui.org) When I moved to the U.S., I created Facebook and Twitter accounts, and the system automatically recommended some practitioners. After I added friends the system began to recommend more and more accounts that looked like practitioners. I soon had thousands of friends, and I was pulled into a group that spread the Fa or discussed cultivation experiences that had more than 2,000 members.
The initial articles circulated in the group were almost all forwarded by other practitioners. Later, content that slandered Dafa appeared and was even pinned to the top. I found that some practitioners were entangled with spies or people with bad intentions. I realized these groups were either set up by spies or were set up by practitioners but were used by spies and people who meant harm.
I also realized that truth-clarification on social media should not target practitioners because the target should be sentient beings. We should not communicate or discuss certain things on social media, and we should not publicly discuss issues between practitioners.
I deleted almost all the practitioners and friends in my accounts, and quit every group titled, “Clarifying the truth” or “Communication.”
Six months ago, someone saw me clarifying the truth on X (Twitter) and wrote, “You are quite good at clarifying the truth. I’ll invite you to a Telegram group. Some practitioners and the 50 Cent army are there. You can clarify the truth to them.” I joined out of curiosity. However, as soon as I joined, I noticed that this group with thousands of people was full of accounts that slandered Dafa and attacked Master, and the content contained foul language. Although some people clarified the truth, I felt uncomfortable.
I immediately quit and realized that because of my fighting mentality and curiosity, I was used by ill-intentioned people to join such a group. In fact, these groups are not for us to save people, but are meant to destroy us.
I quit these groups not because of fear or lack of compassion, but because these groups are essentially traps set by spies to deliberately mislead others. Staying in them is a waste of time and may also allow the bad people to succeed. We should focus our energy on places where Dafa projects are truly effective, as these groups are not where we can clarify the truth.
I feel the correct approach is to ignore such groups, and not even to look at the titles of the postings. However, some practitioners out of dissatisfaction and curiosity to pay attention to, follow, or even debate with the members, which in turn encourages the bad people. Some practitioners later joined the opposite side, and some have been unknowingly infused with misleading opinions, which may surface and disturb them at any time.
Master told us how practitioners should communicate: through Fa study groups and sharing, as well as Fahui (Falun Dafa conferences).
Master also said: “...on important matters, practitioners must pay attention to the attitude of Minghui Net.” (“Notice: A Second Authentic New Article of Master Li Since July 22, 1999 Will Be Published in a Few Days”).
As for some forum-like websites or groups, since they are easily exploited by spies, we should not join them, let alone form one. In particular, Signal groups with hundreds of people in recent years should not exist if they are not necessary for project communication and have very strict controls. These groups are not only easily exploited, but also contain personal information, which can be collected by spies.
During recent media incidents, when some practitioners encountered problems or felt confused about something, they did not study the Fa and look inward, or report it to the Dafa Association. Perhaps they did not get the results they wanted after reporting it, so they began to spread unverified content. Some deliberately pulled people into a certain app to set up a large group or forwarded what happened to different groups. They said this was, “exchange and discussion,” but in fact they did this to express their own views, and spread some “open letter” or “breaking news.”
After Master’s article was published, everyone calmed down. I really want to ask fellow practitioners:
When you saw this, did you join for fun or curiosity? Or are you afraid of offending other practitioners, and dare not point it out even though you know it’s wrong? Or do you know that these kinds of groups are not righteous at all, but still join them and never leave? When asked about it later, you may say, “I didn’t say a word, I didn’t read what they said, or I’ve already withdrawn,” as if it has nothing to do with you.
You may have actively participated, but think that you’ve done a lot to expose the persecution, and you firmly believe that you haven’t done anything wrong. After reading Master’s article you may not feel it’s directed at you, or if you still aren’t convinced, then you really should calm down and study the Fa.
We should always remember that we are cultivators. We handle problems according to Master’s teachings and safeguard Dafa and Dafa projects. If we find that the person in charge of a project has problems, we should compassionately communicate with them, and explain the matter face to face. After all, in the environment outside of China, we are not directly facing the Chinese Communist Party that persecutes us. Even if the person in charge has problems, he will not kidnap and persecute us.
We can calmly bring it up after group Fa study, listen to each other, and understand everything that happened from the perspective of cultivation. You can also report it to the Dafa Association and seek help; even if you don’t get the results you want, you should look inward to see if your intentions or approach aren’t right.
If everyone can improve themselves and do their job well, projects will flourish.