Cult.com How the internet has brought fringe cult leaders and wild conspiracy theories to the mainstream.
By David Williams (he/him) c/w suicide
David Williams dissects how the internet has fostered a community of highly addicted and vulnerable individuals who are more susceptible to the power and influence of radical dialogues.
Several years ago, *Sarah happened upon a post that her daughter *Casey had shared a few months prior. The post was a photo of a woman with her fingers pointed to her head like a gun. In response to the post, several people had posted a link to a video. In the video, self proclaimed ‘spiritual leader’ Teal Swan talked about suicide, suggesting that it can be seen as “our safety net or our reset button that’s always available to us”. Two weeks after that original post, Casey shot and killed herself. While YouTube has now taken the video down, as of November 2019, the video was among the top results in a Google search on terms related to suicide. People such as Teal Swan are in many ways ‘cult leaders’ espousing dangerous views and achieving a status of worship
and awe among their followers. But gone are their remote farms in the hills; the new home of these figures is online. Cults have always used specific tactics to grow their followings, and they continue to employ these same tactics today; however, it is now online. Journalist Jennings Brown said of Swan, “Teal probably would not have the influence or the global reach and following that she has if it weren’t for the internet.”1 The first steps cults take when searching for prospective members, according to an exposé of the seven steps by Vox, is to search for vulnerable people. Today, social media networks have done the work for them. Social media has created an entire populace of vulnerable, anxious users with low self-esteem and mental
* names changed 1 https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/08/205915/the-gateway-teal-swan-youtube-cult-jennings-brown 28
