Actually I've found their articles to be insightful. They have real stories on China that don't get covered elsewhere, especially on the inner workings of the communist party.

As for "cult," that's what the communist party calls Falun Gong :-), so check your sources. I haven't seen any evidence that term is accurate: charge money (no), keep a membership list (no), coercive (no). The Falun Gong has been subject to a massively brutal persecution -- kudos to them for enduring the CCP and without violence. People can believe what they want, doesn't make them less deserving of human rights last time I checked.

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is startlingly good at information control, especially in shaping the perceptions of Chinese people. They're subtle and wiley. I have many [immediate] family members who are Chinese, some of whom went through the horrific "Great Leap Forward". The story they tell is quite different from the history taught to the last two generations.

Check out the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party http://www.ninecommentaries.com/ (link to free online version), and then see how much of what Xinhua says you're willing to take at face value. Sadly China's last two generations often lack the history to recognize how much the CCP affects their opinions.