1
00:00:06,006 --> 00:00:08,383
I think what attracted India
to the group
2
00:00:08,466 --> 00:00:13,304
was... this sense of unified purpose.
3
00:00:13,388 --> 00:00:15,056
[Lakeith Stanfield] The group was NXIVM,
4
00:00:15,140 --> 00:00:18,268
and its unified purpose
was self-improvement
5
00:00:18,351 --> 00:00:20,937
using a patented method
of Rational Inquiry
6
00:00:21,021 --> 00:00:22,981
for Executive Success,
7
00:00:23,064 --> 00:00:25,859
led by a man named Keith Raniere.
8
00:00:26,693 --> 00:00:29,988
But the claim that Raniere
had one of the world's highest IQs,
9
00:00:30,071 --> 00:00:33,199
the way students had to bow
to a picture of him on the wall,
10
00:00:33,283 --> 00:00:36,786
and how they had to call him
The Vanguard unsettled Catherine.
11
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At the end, you know, India came up to me,
and she said, "Mom, this is for me."
12
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And I-- My jaw dropped. I was in shock.
13
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India would end up giving
hundreds of thousands of dollars to NXIVM,
14
00:00:47,088 --> 00:00:51,342
and got drawn into something
much more sinister than Executive Success.
15
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I got a call from somebody,
and she said within NXIVM,
16
00:00:56,347 --> 00:00:58,141
there is a secret group.
17
00:00:58,224 --> 00:01:00,435
And that's the first time
I heard this term "DOS."
18
00:01:00,518 --> 00:01:03,563
Dominus Obsequious Sororium.
19
00:01:03,646 --> 00:01:07,025
It was sold
as a female empowerment group, but...
20
00:01:07,108 --> 00:01:12,697
That's Latin
for "master over female slave."
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00:01:12,781 --> 00:01:15,992
I was then told
that they were branding these women.
22
00:01:16,076 --> 00:01:19,496
The branding
was part of an initiation into DOS.
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00:01:19,579 --> 00:01:23,666
A new member would be blindfolded,
told to take off her clothes,
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00:01:23,750 --> 00:01:25,668
and lie on a massage table.
25
00:01:26,252 --> 00:01:30,006
Three other women would then
hold down her legs and shoulders,
26
00:01:30,090 --> 00:01:31,633
and she was told to say,
27
00:01:31,716 --> 00:01:35,178
"Master, please brand me.
It would be an honor."
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The women were told
that the symbol represented the elements,
29
00:01:38,098 --> 00:01:40,767
but they'd been branded with
Keith Raniere's initials.
30
00:01:42,018 --> 00:01:44,938
Thousands of groups like NXIVM
have risen throughout history,
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00:01:45,021 --> 00:01:47,649
groups that are often described
as cults.
32
00:01:47,732 --> 00:01:49,192
But it's impossible to know how many,
33
00:01:49,275 --> 00:01:51,194
because most cults insist
they're not cults
34
00:01:51,277 --> 00:01:54,739
and almost nobody in a cult
realizes they're in one.
35
00:01:54,823 --> 00:01:56,699
So what makes a group a cult?
36
00:01:57,450 --> 00:02:01,329
And how have some been able to make
ordinary people do horrible things?
37
00:02:03,623 --> 00:02:07,252
[man] I shall be God, and beside me,
there shall be no other.
38
00:02:07,335 --> 00:02:08,211
[second man] Yeah!
39
00:02:08,294 --> 00:02:10,880
[third man] We want to
share this knowledge with everyone.
40
00:02:10,964 --> 00:02:13,925
[woman] It was felt that
whatever method necessary
41
00:02:14,008 --> 00:02:17,679
was okay because we were heavenly children
and God knew why we were doing it.
42
00:02:17,762 --> 00:02:20,640
Waco is gonna bear witness
against the ATF.
43
00:02:20,723 --> 00:02:23,268
You want to keep playing that game,
somebody's gonna get hurt.
44
00:02:23,351 --> 00:02:27,438
[man] You are told to replace your family
and discard your old identity.
45
00:02:27,522 --> 00:02:32,527
Your only chance to survive
is to leave with us.
46
00:02:38,867 --> 00:02:42,328
[Jim Jones] Love is a healing remedy.
47
00:02:42,412 --> 00:02:44,831
Peoples Temple was unique at that time.
48
00:02:44,914 --> 00:02:48,877
It was black and white
and American Indian and Hispanic.
49
00:02:49,711 --> 00:02:52,088
We all walked in naively thinking,
50
00:02:52,172 --> 00:02:55,175
"Okay, Jim said he wants a utopia.
I want a utopia."
51
00:02:55,258 --> 00:02:57,844
We thought we were joining a movement
to make the world better.
52
00:02:58,595 --> 00:03:01,764
But what they were actually joining
ended up defining for the world
53
00:03:01,848 --> 00:03:04,267
-the modern idea of a cult.
-Thank you, baby.
54
00:03:05,518 --> 00:03:06,644
Shh.
55
00:03:06,728 --> 00:03:09,647
In the late 1970s,
the group's leader, Jim Jones,
56
00:03:09,731 --> 00:03:12,984
led nearly a thousand followers
from the Peoples Temple in California
57
00:03:13,067 --> 00:03:16,029
to the remote jungles of Guyana
to build Jonestown,
58
00:03:16,112 --> 00:03:18,489
sold as a self-sufficient utopia,
59
00:03:18,573 --> 00:03:21,117
free of the violence and racism
that plagued America.
60
00:03:21,201 --> 00:03:24,037
-You all happy you here? You happy, Tom?
-Yes.
61
00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,707
Everybody's happy down here.
You can see that that's an obvious fact.
62
00:03:27,790 --> 00:03:30,418
But concerned relatives
began pressuring officials
63
00:03:30,501 --> 00:03:33,129
with pamphlets
about a nightmare at Jonestown,
64
00:03:33,213 --> 00:03:35,423
saying Jones was using mind programming,
65
00:03:35,506 --> 00:03:40,178
even holding mock mass suicides
to condition them to die for the cause.
66
00:03:40,970 --> 00:03:44,682
California Congressman Leo Ryan
flew down to Guyana to investigate
67
00:03:44,766 --> 00:03:46,976
-and never returned.
-[Jones] It's too late.
68
00:03:47,060 --> 00:03:49,562
The congressman's dead,
the Congress today is dead.
69
00:03:49,646 --> 00:03:53,399
If we can't live in peace,
then let's die in peace.
70
00:03:53,483 --> 00:03:54,776
[followers cheering]
71
00:03:59,447 --> 00:04:01,741
The images of nearly a thousand dead,
72
00:04:01,824 --> 00:04:04,661
the largest mass murder-suicide
in modern history,
73
00:04:04,744 --> 00:04:05,954
horrified the world.
74
00:04:06,037 --> 00:04:08,790
[man] Cultists who believed
in everything that Jim Jones said
75
00:04:08,873 --> 00:04:10,083
took their own lives.
76
00:04:10,166 --> 00:04:12,710
[woman] Some shot to death.
Most apparently self-poisoned.
77
00:04:12,794 --> 00:04:15,505
[second man] There were empty bottles
of potassium cyanide.
78
00:04:15,588 --> 00:04:17,548
Entire families took the poison together.
79
00:04:17,632 --> 00:04:20,510
[woman] Among the bodies were those
of the Temple's fanatical founder,
80
00:04:20,593 --> 00:04:22,804
-the Reverend Jim Jones.
-[third man] Jones told them,
81
00:04:22,887 --> 00:04:25,098
"It is time for us to meet
in another place."
82
00:04:27,475 --> 00:04:30,311
[Stanfield] Groups called cults,
led by charismatic leaders
83
00:04:30,395 --> 00:04:32,563
with extreme beliefs
and fanatic followers,
84
00:04:32,647 --> 00:04:35,650
have existed in almost every country
across the globe.
85
00:04:35,733 --> 00:04:38,194
But the scale of destruction at Jonestown
86
00:04:38,278 --> 00:04:41,447
gave the word "cult"
a new horrifying connotation...
87
00:04:42,115 --> 00:04:45,743
and drove social scientists
in the United States to publish research
88
00:04:45,827 --> 00:04:49,539
attempting to define what these
destructive groups had in common.
89
00:04:49,622 --> 00:04:51,833
They settled on
three main characteristics.
90
00:04:51,916 --> 00:04:54,711
A cult is a group or a social movement
91
00:04:54,794 --> 00:04:58,339
that's led by a charismatic leader,
92
00:04:58,423 --> 00:05:00,133
uh, who is authoritarian
93
00:05:00,216 --> 00:05:04,012
and who demands to be revered
as a godlike figure.
94
00:05:04,095 --> 00:05:08,725
We were taught to believe what he said
was straight from the mouth of God.
95
00:05:08,808 --> 00:05:11,811
In the "community," as we called it,
he was God's authority.
96
00:05:11,894 --> 00:05:13,688
The second key element of a cult...
97
00:05:13,771 --> 00:05:18,151
The group has some form of
indoctrination program,
98
00:05:18,234 --> 00:05:20,361
uh, sometimes called "thought reform."
99
00:05:20,445 --> 00:05:21,904
Or mind control.
100
00:05:21,988 --> 00:05:24,699
It was almost like
the operating system was the Bible,
101
00:05:24,782 --> 00:05:28,286
and then he was putting
all of his programs in there on top of it.
102
00:05:28,369 --> 00:05:30,038
And people would kind of accept them
103
00:05:30,121 --> 00:05:33,624
because they accepted the Bible,
so they shouldn't question the Bible,
104
00:05:33,708 --> 00:05:35,209
so they had to believe it.
105
00:05:35,293 --> 00:05:37,837
There is exploitation,
106
00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:39,589
uh, either sexual, financial...
107
00:05:39,672 --> 00:05:41,382
Some type of exploitation of the members.
108
00:05:41,466 --> 00:05:44,010
Whenever, you know, Sun Myung Moon
109
00:05:44,093 --> 00:05:47,597
needed my parents
for some kind of mission or anything,
110
00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,309
they had to put the cult leader's needs
before their children's.
111
00:05:51,392 --> 00:05:54,979
Like my father. He was gone
most of the year when I was growing up.
112
00:05:55,063 --> 00:05:57,982
But there's a small problem
with this definition of a cult.
113
00:05:58,066 --> 00:06:03,071
It's a value judgment
more than it is a-a functional word.
114
00:06:03,154 --> 00:06:08,493
Every prophet of every major religion
can be considered a charismatic leader.
115
00:06:08,576 --> 00:06:10,953
In fact, the biggest joke
in religious studies
116
00:06:11,037 --> 00:06:13,998
is that "cult plus time equals religion."
117
00:06:14,624 --> 00:06:19,629
"Cult" comes from the Latin "cultus,"
meaning "to till or cultivate,"
118
00:06:19,712 --> 00:06:21,506
and in antiquity, was used to describe
119
00:06:21,589 --> 00:06:26,803
the sacrifices, offerings, and monuments
built to cultivate favor with the gods.
120
00:06:26,886 --> 00:06:30,014
In time, it came to mean
any unorthodox religion.
121
00:06:30,098 --> 00:06:34,310
The Roman Empire
referred to Judaism as a cult.
122
00:06:34,394 --> 00:06:38,523
Some say that
certain versions of Islam are cults.
123
00:06:38,606 --> 00:06:44,612
Nowadays, most scholars prefer the word
"new religious movement" or "NRM."
124
00:06:44,695 --> 00:06:47,490
And many arose,
not to exploit their followers,
125
00:06:47,573 --> 00:06:50,451
but to help them survive
in the face of an external threat.
126
00:06:50,535 --> 00:06:56,165
[Reza] The collective's very sense of self
is under attack by the world,
127
00:06:56,249 --> 00:07:00,628
and the only way to salvage one's identity
128
00:07:00,711 --> 00:07:06,509
is to come together under the leadership
of this charismatic authority
129
00:07:06,592 --> 00:07:09,095
and to rebuild from scratch.
130
00:07:09,178 --> 00:07:11,973
Jesus of Nazareth lived in perhaps
131
00:07:12,056 --> 00:07:16,936
the most politically
and socially turbulent era
132
00:07:17,019 --> 00:07:20,440
in the history of the Middle East,
which is saying a lot.
133
00:07:20,523 --> 00:07:26,446
And so Jesus was one of
at least a dozen messiahs
134
00:07:26,529 --> 00:07:27,572
that we know of.
135
00:07:27,697 --> 00:07:29,740
New Religious Movements have arisen
136
00:07:29,824 --> 00:07:33,619
to help humans navigate turbulent times
throughout history.
137
00:07:33,703 --> 00:07:36,456
In Europe, many arose
during the turmoil of the Renaissance
138
00:07:36,539 --> 00:07:39,500
and as a backlash
against institutional religions.
139
00:07:39,584 --> 00:07:41,836
In India,
they grew out of social turbulence
140
00:07:41,919 --> 00:07:44,130
caused by a transition to agriculture,
141
00:07:44,213 --> 00:07:46,841
and later, as a response
to British colonialism.
142
00:07:46,924 --> 00:07:48,634
But one country in particular
143
00:07:48,718 --> 00:07:52,221
welcomed new religions with open arms
from its very founding.
144
00:07:52,305 --> 00:07:55,558
Going back well into the 1600s,
145
00:07:55,641 --> 00:07:58,895
the American colonies
had developed a reputation
146
00:07:58,978 --> 00:08:01,481
as a safe harbor for religious radicals.
147
00:08:02,315 --> 00:08:04,275
And there was one small patch of America
148
00:08:04,358 --> 00:08:07,445
that was especially seized
by this new religious fervor.
149
00:08:07,528 --> 00:08:10,573
A section of land
stretching from Albany to Buffalo,
150
00:08:10,656 --> 00:08:12,742
known as the Burned-Over District.
151
00:08:12,825 --> 00:08:17,371
The Burned-Over District
became the birthplace of Mormonism,
152
00:08:17,455 --> 00:08:21,125
of Seventh-day Adventism,
of spiritualism.
153
00:08:21,209 --> 00:08:23,377
And a wide range
of other social, political,
154
00:08:23,461 --> 00:08:24,962
and religious movements as well.
155
00:08:25,046 --> 00:08:27,757
Wherever you encounter religious openings,
156
00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,093
you inevitably encounter
political openings as well.
157
00:08:31,719 --> 00:08:34,847
Jemima Wilkinson
was one prophet from that area.
158
00:08:34,931 --> 00:08:37,725
She recovered from
a near-death experience with typhoid
159
00:08:37,808 --> 00:08:41,145
to declare herself
a reincarnation of a holy spirit
160
00:08:41,229 --> 00:08:43,898
named Public Universal Friend.
161
00:08:43,981 --> 00:08:45,775
And it was probably the first time
162
00:08:45,858 --> 00:08:50,863
that most Americans had ever seen
a woman preaching or speaking in public.
163
00:08:50,947 --> 00:08:52,698
This kind of American Sinai
164
00:08:52,782 --> 00:08:57,078
where people felt they were receiving
all kinds of messages and dispensations,
165
00:08:57,161 --> 00:08:59,247
not strictly religious in nature.
166
00:08:59,330 --> 00:09:01,832
This pattern repeated again and again.
167
00:09:01,916 --> 00:09:04,835
And they spread beyond
the Burned-Over District,
168
00:09:04,919 --> 00:09:07,296
like to New York City in the 1930s,
169
00:09:07,380 --> 00:09:10,383
where tens of thousands
considered a man called Father Divine
170
00:09:10,466 --> 00:09:12,510
-to be God on Earth.
-[cheering]
171
00:09:12,593 --> 00:09:15,930
For all of humanity, I am broadcasting.
172
00:09:16,013 --> 00:09:17,139
[cheering]
173
00:09:17,223 --> 00:09:20,017
One has to understand Father Divine
174
00:09:20,101 --> 00:09:24,730
as a very early progenitor
of the civil-rights movement.
175
00:09:24,814 --> 00:09:27,483
Father Divine's early followers
176
00:09:27,567 --> 00:09:31,529
were involved in protests
and petition drives
177
00:09:31,612 --> 00:09:35,741
and letter-writing campaigns
that insisted upon civil rights
178
00:09:35,825 --> 00:09:39,537
at a time when that call
was very muted in American life.
179
00:09:39,620 --> 00:09:41,622
But a call that would grow
180
00:09:41,706 --> 00:09:44,166
and touch off a new era
of social upheaval...
181
00:09:44,792 --> 00:09:47,461
with racial tensions
erupting into violence
182
00:09:47,545 --> 00:09:50,131
-and a wave of political assassinations.
-[gunshots]
183
00:09:51,173 --> 00:09:53,676
Many began doubting
the war in Vietnam was just.
184
00:09:54,302 --> 00:09:56,637
Americans' trust in their government
plummeted...
185
00:09:57,638 --> 00:10:01,100
and the specter
of imminent nuclear annihilation
186
00:10:01,183 --> 00:10:04,437
made the entire nation
feel like it was under siege.
187
00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,107
This drove a generation
to search for new kinds of community
188
00:10:08,190 --> 00:10:10,026
and alternative sources of meaning.
189
00:10:10,109 --> 00:10:12,236
And so what we saw at that time
190
00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:15,364
was the rise
of these charismatic individuals,
191
00:10:15,448 --> 00:10:20,036
some of them American, many of them
drawing from traditions of the East,
192
00:10:20,119 --> 00:10:21,996
particularly in India.
193
00:10:22,079 --> 00:10:24,206
"We are the righteous few."
194
00:10:24,290 --> 00:10:25,958
"We know the answer."
195
00:10:26,042 --> 00:10:29,337
And that knowledge was an antidote
196
00:10:29,420 --> 00:10:32,882
for the turbulent times in which we lived.
197
00:10:34,675 --> 00:10:37,762
But that knowledge
sometimes came with a catch.
198
00:10:37,845 --> 00:10:41,265
The search for
alternative forms of meaning,
199
00:10:41,349 --> 00:10:45,019
these things have at their back
a very powerful appeal.
200
00:10:45,102 --> 00:10:47,396
And sometimes people start out,
201
00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,566
even the leaders themselves,
believing in that appeal.
202
00:10:50,650 --> 00:10:52,943
But there is a break in human nature
203
00:10:53,027 --> 00:10:57,031
in which idealism can very easily
turn into authoritarianism.
204
00:10:57,114 --> 00:11:00,326
The same religious tolerance
that allowed the country to thrive...
205
00:11:00,409 --> 00:11:01,410
Take that step.
206
00:11:01,494 --> 00:11:04,413
...made Americans
particularly susceptible to manipulation.
207
00:11:04,497 --> 00:11:05,665
[cheering]
208
00:11:07,166 --> 00:11:08,793
Even Father Divine was accused of
209
00:11:08,876 --> 00:11:11,087
taking advantage of his followers
financially,
210
00:11:11,170 --> 00:11:13,506
including convincing them
to buy him a hotel,
211
00:11:13,589 --> 00:11:15,716
and bilking a woman
out of her inheritance.
212
00:11:16,509 --> 00:11:19,178
And one man was watching all this
and taking notes--
213
00:11:20,262 --> 00:11:21,389
Jim Jones.
214
00:11:21,472 --> 00:11:24,266
So Jim Jones, he studied,
you know, Father Divine
215
00:11:24,350 --> 00:11:27,103
to see how Father Divine
set up his community.
216
00:11:27,728 --> 00:11:29,772
Jones' desire to learn from Divine
217
00:11:29,855 --> 00:11:32,983
was even immortalized
in a 1980 TV miniseries.
218
00:11:33,067 --> 00:11:35,653
That's James Earl Jones
playing Father Divine.
219
00:11:35,736 --> 00:11:38,447
But how could you sustain such a movement?
220
00:11:38,531 --> 00:11:41,534
How did my son Moses sustain his flock?
221
00:11:42,243 --> 00:11:43,285
But the cost?
222
00:11:43,369 --> 00:11:47,957
Ask and you shall receive, my son.
223
00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:49,417
Ask and you shall receive.
224
00:11:49,500 --> 00:11:53,003
Jim Jones took some of the appeals
to social justice
225
00:11:53,087 --> 00:11:56,298
that were intrinsic
to Father Divine's message,
226
00:11:56,382 --> 00:11:58,843
and he used them,
first to attract people,
227
00:11:58,926 --> 00:12:01,011
and later, to manipulate people.
228
00:12:01,095 --> 00:12:03,597
And it's when that manipulation
becomes destructive
229
00:12:03,681 --> 00:12:06,851
that a group becomes a cult,
according to social scientists.
230
00:12:06,934 --> 00:12:10,271
It's really not about the belief system,
per se.
231
00:12:10,354 --> 00:12:13,274
It's about the behaviors of the group
232
00:12:13,357 --> 00:12:18,571
and the ways in which it uses, uh,
various methods of influence and control
233
00:12:18,654 --> 00:12:21,073
to manipulate and exploit the members.
234
00:12:22,742 --> 00:12:25,745
Charles Manson convinced his followers
to murder nine people
235
00:12:25,828 --> 00:12:27,955
in an attempt to incite a race war.
236
00:12:28,038 --> 00:12:30,249
Shoko Asahara ordered his followers
237
00:12:30,332 --> 00:12:34,378
to release sarin gas in the Tokyo subway,
killing 13.
238
00:12:35,379 --> 00:12:39,008
And Marshall Applewhite of Heaven's Gate
convinced his followers of this...
239
00:12:39,091 --> 00:12:42,887
Periodically,
that level comes in close enough
240
00:12:42,970 --> 00:12:46,348
and offers a graduation class,
241
00:12:46,432 --> 00:12:49,518
offers life out of this evolutionary level
242
00:12:49,602 --> 00:12:51,687
into that evolutionary level.
243
00:12:51,771 --> 00:12:54,857
Which led many
to castrate, then kill themselves,
244
00:12:54,940 --> 00:12:57,860
believing this would help them
ascend to a higher plane.
245
00:12:58,736 --> 00:13:01,947
The eternal fascination with cults
stems from the mystery
246
00:13:02,031 --> 00:13:04,784
of how their leaders
exert such complete control.
247
00:13:05,868 --> 00:13:08,662
[Janja] What they're using
is basic social psychology.
248
00:13:08,746 --> 00:13:12,750
They're using everyday influence
and control techniques.
249
00:13:13,334 --> 00:13:15,920
[Stanfield] So as a public service,
we present to you
250
00:13:16,003 --> 00:13:20,216
seven elements that social scientists say
can lead to indoctrination into a cult.
251
00:13:20,966 --> 00:13:22,009
Number one--
252
00:13:22,092 --> 00:13:25,137
you're going through a transition,
perhaps a difficult one.
253
00:13:25,221 --> 00:13:27,973
I was a starving,
not-very-successful actor
254
00:13:28,057 --> 00:13:29,642
in my 20s in New York.
255
00:13:29,725 --> 00:13:32,311
When you're in that vulnerable state,
256
00:13:32,394 --> 00:13:35,481
uh, you're going to be more open
to trying something.
257
00:13:35,564 --> 00:13:39,735
Maybe, you know, pull a thing
off a-- on a bulletin board
258
00:13:39,819 --> 00:13:41,612
that says, "Come to this yoga class."
259
00:13:41,695 --> 00:13:45,324
The first meditation began,
and I felt the experience
260
00:13:45,407 --> 00:13:49,495
of wave after wave
of love and connectedness.
261
00:13:49,578 --> 00:13:51,705
Which is all part of the soft sell.
262
00:13:51,789 --> 00:13:53,207
I had a questionnaire.
263
00:13:53,290 --> 00:13:56,377
Just, like, questions about life
and the universe, "Are you happy?"
264
00:13:56,460 --> 00:13:58,003
Once you take that first step
265
00:13:58,087 --> 00:14:03,342
and go to that first meeting or talk
or meditation group or Bible study,
266
00:14:03,425 --> 00:14:05,761
recruiters can work on you
and invite you back,
267
00:14:05,845 --> 00:14:08,055
and-and it basically is a process
from there.
268
00:14:08,138 --> 00:14:11,809
We'd encourage them
to go to this retreat center in the woods,
269
00:14:11,892 --> 00:14:13,978
you know, where we can
further indoctrinate them.
270
00:14:14,061 --> 00:14:17,815
This is the first step
toward the creation of a new reality.
271
00:14:17,898 --> 00:14:20,401
We were kept in this closed environment--
272
00:14:20,484 --> 00:14:23,696
no outside books, no TV, no movies--
273
00:14:23,779 --> 00:14:26,657
to protect us from
what-what my parents would say
274
00:14:26,740 --> 00:14:28,158
is the defilement of the world.
275
00:14:28,242 --> 00:14:32,079
Over time, you're going to become,
uh, more and more enveloped
276
00:14:32,162 --> 00:14:34,456
in this what I call
a self-sealing system.
277
00:14:35,124 --> 00:14:39,378
Until your most important relationship
is with "The Dear Leader."
278
00:14:39,461 --> 00:14:41,547
They would have Sun Myung Moon
279
00:14:41,630 --> 00:14:43,757
and/or his family members come out.
280
00:14:43,841 --> 00:14:47,595
"Ladies and gentlemen,
the true parents of mankind--
281
00:14:47,678 --> 00:14:49,346
Reverend and Sun Myung Moon."
282
00:14:49,430 --> 00:14:51,473
You're in a group
that has found the answer,
283
00:14:51,557 --> 00:14:53,601
and you have this leader
who is the only leader
284
00:14:53,684 --> 00:14:56,186
who is the only one
who can take you on this path.
285
00:14:56,270 --> 00:14:59,356
And everything else
and everybody else is wrong.
286
00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,775
Every Sunday morning at 5:00 a.m.,
287
00:15:01,859 --> 00:15:05,404
we just bowed to a picture
of Reverend and Mrs. Moon.
288
00:15:05,487 --> 00:15:08,991
We were told to love Reverend
and Mrs. Moon as our own parents,
289
00:15:09,074 --> 00:15:11,327
but even more than our own parents.
290
00:15:11,911 --> 00:15:15,080
Which the leader will often solidify
by creating an external enemy.
291
00:15:15,164 --> 00:15:20,210
He said to me, "You're going to be raped,
you're gonna be beaten.
292
00:15:20,294 --> 00:15:22,171
You're going to be left in a ditch."
293
00:15:22,254 --> 00:15:26,216
He said all these horrible things
about what would happen to me if I left
294
00:15:26,300 --> 00:15:28,385
because the world was such an evil place.
295
00:15:28,469 --> 00:15:33,182
This means that you're going to
"psychologically" run to the cult leader.
296
00:15:33,265 --> 00:15:39,146
You become in a perpetual state of denial
of your own reasoning power.
297
00:15:39,229 --> 00:15:40,314
You don't reason anymore.
298
00:15:40,397 --> 00:15:42,858
People in this state of
cognitive dissonance,
299
00:15:42,942 --> 00:15:45,194
they're going to choose
over and over and over
300
00:15:45,277 --> 00:15:46,654
for the cult or the cult leader.
301
00:15:46,737 --> 00:15:50,658
Which brings us to the key way
cult leaders scale up their control--
302
00:15:50,741 --> 00:15:52,034
simple peer pressure.
303
00:15:52,785 --> 00:15:56,163
This fundamental human desire
to be a part of a group
304
00:15:56,246 --> 00:15:58,999
can override
even our own perception of reality.
305
00:15:59,083 --> 00:16:01,919
In 1951, social psychologist Solomon Asch
306
00:16:02,002 --> 00:16:04,964
demonstrated this
by placing several students in a room.
307
00:16:05,047 --> 00:16:06,799
All but one were in on the experiment.
308
00:16:06,882 --> 00:16:10,386
Your task is a very simple one.
You're to look at the line on the left
309
00:16:10,469 --> 00:16:12,513
and determine
which of the lines on the right
310
00:16:12,596 --> 00:16:13,806
is equal to it in length.
311
00:16:13,889 --> 00:16:16,100
-[man] Two.
-[second man] Two.
312
00:16:16,183 --> 00:16:17,184
Two.
313
00:16:19,103 --> 00:16:20,479
Uh, two.
314
00:16:20,562 --> 00:16:24,441
Seventy-five percent of those tested
would end up agreeing with the majority,
315
00:16:24,525 --> 00:16:27,152
even when their responses
were obviously false.
316
00:16:27,236 --> 00:16:29,238
It's this pressure to conform
317
00:16:29,321 --> 00:16:31,907
that the cult leader uses
to control members.
318
00:16:31,991 --> 00:16:34,243
In a way, that's what he did
the last day at Jonestown.
319
00:16:34,326 --> 00:16:39,289
He incited a riot, and then he sat back
and let peer pressure work.
320
00:16:39,373 --> 00:16:42,543
All to serve the whims
of a likely sociopathic narcissist.
321
00:16:42,626 --> 00:16:47,131
He said, "You couldn't live without me,
so since I'm dying, you're gonna die, too,
322
00:16:47,214 --> 00:16:50,217
and you're not that important
because I'm the one who's essential."
323
00:16:51,260 --> 00:16:54,471
When the kids
were all outside the pavilion,
324
00:16:54,555 --> 00:16:56,473
then he had his secretaries
and mistresses
325
00:16:56,557 --> 00:16:58,684
go out and shoot the poison
in their mouths,
326
00:16:58,767 --> 00:17:00,561
and so he started killing the children.
327
00:17:00,644 --> 00:17:02,563
No parent could sit there,
328
00:17:02,646 --> 00:17:05,357
knowing that the child died
ten feet from them,
329
00:17:05,441 --> 00:17:09,445
and think that they were gonna go back
and-and live a life in the United States.
330
00:17:13,615 --> 00:17:15,284
Today, a different kind of threat
331
00:17:15,367 --> 00:17:18,454
is driving people
to search for new sources of meaning.
332
00:17:18,537 --> 00:17:21,081
There's an epidemic of social isolation
so serious,
333
00:17:21,165 --> 00:17:24,501
it's been recognized as a public health
threat in countries around the world.
334
00:17:24,585 --> 00:17:26,712
Medical experts believe loneliness
335
00:17:26,795 --> 00:17:29,673
is becoming Australia's
newest public-health crisis.
336
00:17:29,757 --> 00:17:33,010
[woman] America is in the grips of
a loneliness epidemic.
337
00:17:33,093 --> 00:17:35,637
The government has appointed
a minister for loneliness.
338
00:17:35,721 --> 00:17:39,725
[in Japanese] There are 800,000
to 900,000 middle-aged people
339
00:17:39,808 --> 00:17:41,643
who have completely withdrawn
from society.
340
00:17:42,436 --> 00:17:45,731
People don't necessarily
have a built-in community
341
00:17:45,814 --> 00:17:47,858
be it at the level of family,
at the level of church,
342
00:17:47,941 --> 00:17:49,151
at the level of neighborhood.
343
00:17:49,234 --> 00:17:51,945
As fewer people identify with
organized religion
344
00:17:52,029 --> 00:17:54,239
and the communal gathering spaces
they offer,
345
00:17:54,323 --> 00:17:57,076
virtual communities
are helping to fill that void.
346
00:17:57,159 --> 00:18:02,998
What the Internet has done
is, for the first time in human history,
347
00:18:03,082 --> 00:18:08,045
made the definition of community
no longer geographically bound.
348
00:18:08,128 --> 00:18:12,382
We are finding statistically small,
but personally huge,
349
00:18:12,466 --> 00:18:14,176
groups of like-minded individuals
350
00:18:14,259 --> 00:18:16,386
who will reinforce us
and reinforce who we are.
351
00:18:16,470 --> 00:18:19,306
This has led to a new generation
of online leaders
352
00:18:19,389 --> 00:18:22,976
who are using the tools of social media
to attract fervent virtual followers.
353
00:18:23,060 --> 00:18:24,186
You're going to feel like
354
00:18:24,269 --> 00:18:27,773
you have your own hands in your own clay
because you do.
355
00:18:27,856 --> 00:18:32,277
The only place where you can find
what you're seeking is within you.
356
00:18:32,361 --> 00:18:35,447
You are accepting yourself
a hundred percent for who you are.
357
00:18:35,531 --> 00:18:38,117
If people don't like it, too bad.
They can hit the road.
358
00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,371
[Tara] You can disseminate information
quickly to a bunch of followers
359
00:18:42,454 --> 00:18:45,374
if you're just in your room
with no social connections.
360
00:18:45,457 --> 00:18:48,293
You're able to, because of
the sheer size of the Internet,
361
00:18:48,377 --> 00:18:50,879
find a community for almost anything.
362
00:18:50,963 --> 00:18:54,049
And that sense of reinforcement
can be really, really powerful.
363
00:18:54,133 --> 00:18:55,884
Teal Swan is one such leader.
364
00:18:55,968 --> 00:18:59,304
Some people actually use depression
as a way of avoiding suicide.
365
00:18:59,388 --> 00:19:01,056
She's attracted a large following
366
00:19:01,140 --> 00:19:04,101
by offering controversial advice
to the hurting and lonely.
367
00:19:04,184 --> 00:19:06,854
What suicide is
is pushing the reset button.
368
00:19:06,937 --> 00:19:09,857
It's not a good or bad decision
in and of itself.
369
00:19:09,940 --> 00:19:14,027
Some have accused Teal of being
an online cult leader, which she denies,
370
00:19:14,111 --> 00:19:17,322
although she acknowledges
she has "the perfect recipe for a cult."
371
00:19:17,406 --> 00:19:19,658
"These people are desperate.
They need my approval.
372
00:19:19,741 --> 00:19:21,493
They'll do whatever I say."
373
00:19:21,577 --> 00:19:24,246
And the built-in features
of today's online gathering spaces
374
00:19:24,329 --> 00:19:25,747
can help lead the vulnerable astray.
375
00:19:25,831 --> 00:19:28,792
You watch one video,
and YouTube will suggest others,
376
00:19:28,876 --> 00:19:32,337
and often, that can lead to, for example,
a spiral of radicalization.
377
00:19:32,421 --> 00:19:35,090
And a lot of online spaces,
like message boards,
378
00:19:35,174 --> 00:19:38,260
can create a cult-like community
without a need for a leader at all.
379
00:19:38,343 --> 00:19:40,179
These alternate movements,
they provide answers,
380
00:19:40,262 --> 00:19:42,723
and they provide a home.
They provide someone to listen to them.
381
00:19:42,806 --> 00:19:45,976
Vulnerable people at a crossroads
can easily find this content.
382
00:19:46,059 --> 00:19:49,396
There's often a soft sell
with content that's less extreme,
383
00:19:49,479 --> 00:19:52,691
like a forum where
men vented about sexual frustration
384
00:19:52,774 --> 00:19:55,194
that can pull people into a new reality,
385
00:19:55,277 --> 00:19:59,573
exacerbated by an external enemy
and enforced by peer pressure.
386
00:19:59,656 --> 00:20:01,992
Other men urging each other
to seek revenge.
387
00:20:02,075 --> 00:20:04,786
Just because
they don't have physical spaces
388
00:20:04,870 --> 00:20:08,248
does not make these modern-day cults,
um, any less potent.
389
00:20:08,332 --> 00:20:12,085
And in the last few years,
these scenes have horrified the world.
390
00:20:12,169 --> 00:20:14,254
[woman] The Santa Barbara shooter,
Elliot Roger,
391
00:20:14,338 --> 00:20:16,006
left a trail of threats online.
392
00:20:16,089 --> 00:20:19,051
[man] He stabbed or shot
six people to death.
393
00:20:19,134 --> 00:20:22,346
These forums
are leading to physical violence.
394
00:20:22,429 --> 00:20:25,641
A van plowing into pedestrians
on a busy street in Toronto.
395
00:20:25,724 --> 00:20:27,476
[man] Incel. It's an online community
396
00:20:27,559 --> 00:20:30,687
frustrated with their romantic lives
with women.
397
00:20:30,771 --> 00:20:32,606
[Stanfield] Minutes before
the Toronto attack,
398
00:20:32,689 --> 00:20:35,359
the man responsible
posted a call-out to 4chan,
399
00:20:35,442 --> 00:20:38,695
his message board of choice,
referring to it as a sergeant,
400
00:20:38,779 --> 00:20:40,656
as if it was his commanding officer.
401
00:20:40,739 --> 00:20:43,867
[woman] A mass shooting in New Zealand,
a New Zealand mosque,
402
00:20:43,951 --> 00:20:45,661
leaves dozens of people dead,
403
00:20:45,744 --> 00:20:49,665
with the gunman live-streaming
the incident on social media.
404
00:20:49,748 --> 00:20:52,584
[Stanfield] The attacker in New Zealand
boasted to his online community
405
00:20:52,668 --> 00:20:53,794
about the mass murder...
406
00:20:54,628 --> 00:20:57,714
which was enthusiastically endorsed
by his community.
407
00:20:57,798 --> 00:21:01,510
One trapped in an alternate reality
as complete as any physical cult.
408
00:21:01,635 --> 00:21:03,637
These online cults do give people
409
00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,683
who believe themselves to be disaffected
or alienated from the dominant culture
410
00:21:07,766 --> 00:21:10,686
an alternate narrative,
an alternate script to follow.
411
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:15,691
Whether that alternative narrative
is built online or in the physical world,
412
00:21:15,774 --> 00:21:17,901
on the promises of social justice
413
00:21:17,985 --> 00:21:21,405
or the promise of
a better, happier, successful self,
414
00:21:21,488 --> 00:21:26,118
they all use the same methods of control,
and they're all incredibly hard to escape.
415
00:21:26,201 --> 00:21:29,496
[Janja] It's hard to leave a cult
because it's your whole world.
416
00:21:29,579 --> 00:21:33,041
In time, the majority of cult members
will leave on their own,
417
00:21:33,125 --> 00:21:35,502
often when they discover
their infallible leader
418
00:21:35,585 --> 00:21:36,920
isn't so infallible.
419
00:21:37,045 --> 00:21:38,130
It was very commonplace
420
00:21:38,213 --> 00:21:42,384
for him to throw out a date
when the end of the world would be.
421
00:21:42,467 --> 00:21:46,013
If you look at his track record,
he was very inconsistent.
422
00:21:46,096 --> 00:21:49,266
Or when they find their guide
to a moral life is actually a hypocrite.
423
00:21:49,349 --> 00:21:53,353
They all took vows of celibacy,
pretended to keep those vows.
424
00:21:53,437 --> 00:21:55,731
Muktananda himself, I later learned
425
00:21:55,814 --> 00:22:00,235
that he was a very fervent,
prodigious sexual predator.
426
00:22:00,319 --> 00:22:03,405
Or when their constructed reality cracks.
427
00:22:03,488 --> 00:22:04,781
My dad passed away.
428
00:22:04,865 --> 00:22:07,993
The leadership allowed me
to go to his funeral.
429
00:22:08,076 --> 00:22:10,704
Just getting away from my situation
430
00:22:10,787 --> 00:22:13,415
and looking at things
from a different perspective,
431
00:22:13,498 --> 00:22:18,253
I said, "I have to-I have to get out,
and I have to get my kids out."
432
00:22:18,337 --> 00:22:22,049
The idea of leaving the cult
and going into that world,
433
00:22:22,132 --> 00:22:24,384
uh, is-is very terrifying.
434
00:22:24,468 --> 00:22:26,178
I remember being scared
to cross the street
435
00:22:26,261 --> 00:22:29,765
because I was afraid that, you know,
God would take my life.
436
00:22:29,848 --> 00:22:34,478
It's difficult also because you're not
used to making your own decisions.
437
00:22:34,561 --> 00:22:38,190
About seven or eight years ago,
I-I was in, like, a-a book club,
438
00:22:38,273 --> 00:22:42,277
and it was triggering, 'cause it was like,
"What do you think of this book?"
439
00:22:42,361 --> 00:22:46,114
And I-I was just getting agitated,
440
00:22:46,198 --> 00:22:48,784
and I could barely get a word out,
and I just stopped going.
441
00:22:48,867 --> 00:22:51,328
People I loved, something I believed in,
442
00:22:51,411 --> 00:22:55,957
was suddenly proven to be
just a delusion. You know?
443
00:22:56,041 --> 00:22:58,126
So you kind of hate yourself for that.
444
00:22:58,210 --> 00:22:59,795
It's going to be exhausting,
445
00:22:59,878 --> 00:23:02,839
and hopefully the person
will have a safe place
446
00:23:02,923 --> 00:23:04,424
to put their life together.
447
00:23:04,508 --> 00:23:08,637
The arrest and conviction of Keith Raniere
has allowed Catherine and India Oxenberg
448
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,847
to begin the long process of recovery.
449
00:23:10,931 --> 00:23:14,434
Ultimately, we are completely reunited.
450
00:23:14,518 --> 00:23:15,560
It's a process.
451
00:23:15,644 --> 00:23:17,771
She understands that it impacted her
452
00:23:17,854 --> 00:23:21,942
and that she's not broken,
but she's not unscathed, either.
453
00:23:22,025 --> 00:23:24,277
Parts of myself
that I had tried to kill off,
454
00:23:24,361 --> 00:23:27,739
they started coming back,
and it's gonna sound ridiculous,
455
00:23:27,823 --> 00:23:32,786
but I began birdwatching,
and that was a part of my old identity.
456
00:23:32,869 --> 00:23:36,706
My survival instinct had not been crushed.
457
00:23:36,790 --> 00:23:39,960
And whatever it was gonna mean
for me to survive,
458
00:23:40,043 --> 00:23:41,837
that's what I was focusing on.
459
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:43,588
You find other weirdos.
460
00:23:43,672 --> 00:23:47,092
You find other people who are--
who feel a little offbeat or different.
461
00:23:47,175 --> 00:23:49,177
I mean, I'm an artist already, so...
462
00:23:49,261 --> 00:23:51,638
a lot of artists--
we're all weirdos, right?
463
00:23:51,721 --> 00:23:53,598
So stone by stone that you turn over,
464
00:23:53,682 --> 00:23:57,477
you realize, like,
"Oh, there's really nothing to fear here,"
465
00:23:57,561 --> 00:24:00,439
and that I'm still, like, learning.
466
00:24:00,522 --> 00:24:04,109
I was starting from a blank slate
in my late 20s.
467
00:24:04,192 --> 00:24:07,404
I still feel like I have that-that ability
to learn new things
468
00:24:07,487 --> 00:24:09,739
that maybe some people my age don't have,
469
00:24:09,823 --> 00:24:12,451
and I think it's because
I will always want to learn,
470
00:24:12,534 --> 00:24:14,786
because I was deprived of learning.
471
00:24:14,911 --> 00:24:16,955
I decided when I was 21 or 22
472
00:24:17,038 --> 00:24:21,251
that I wanted to, really,
at some point in my life,
473
00:24:21,334 --> 00:24:24,713
be able to give back and to help people
474
00:24:24,796 --> 00:24:26,798
in a way that I didn't have when I left.
475
00:24:26,882 --> 00:24:29,050
Teaching them they can
make a choice for themselves,
476
00:24:29,134 --> 00:24:31,178
that they can do something
that's good for themselves,
477
00:24:31,261 --> 00:24:33,180
and they can be independent like that.
478
00:24:33,263 --> 00:24:37,684
You know, I'm a survivor,
and from pretty early on,
479
00:24:37,767 --> 00:24:40,395
I felt like every day that I survive,
480
00:24:40,479 --> 00:24:42,647
I was flaunting it in Jim's face.
481
00:24:42,731 --> 00:24:47,319
Laura Kohl returned to Guyana in 2018
with other Jonestown survivors,
482
00:24:47,402 --> 00:24:49,613
the lucky few who happened to be
away from Jonestown
483
00:24:49,696 --> 00:24:51,156
the day the tragedy occurred.
484
00:24:51,865 --> 00:24:55,285
I think that that's something
that doesn't get said enough.
485
00:24:55,368 --> 00:24:58,705
It's not Jim Jones and... and the people.
486
00:24:58,788 --> 00:25:01,625
It's 917 people and that other guy.
487
00:25:01,708 --> 00:25:03,502
[sniffs and laughs and sniffs]
488
00:25:08,673 --> 00:25:10,675
[closing music playing]