cults
How I Escaped the Church of Scientology
"I found myself working over 80 hours a week and earning under £5,000 a year."
Did a Group of Young Black Spiritual Seekers Vanish Due to an ‘Online Cult’?
As police and families search for six people missing from the St. Louis area, rumors and half-truths swirl around their involvement with Rashad Jamal, a spiritual influencer now in prison for child abuse.
How ‘Twin Flames Universe’ YouTubers Monetized Heartbreak and Trauma
Before he became the messianic leader of an online spirituality school—and the subject of TV documentaries on Amazon and Netflix—Jeff Ayan aspired to work at Google.
'Go Home': Locals Drive QAnon Queen Cult Leader Out of Yet Another Town
After being chased out, the so-called QAnon Queen of Canada made her way to set up base in an abandoned school in rural Saskatchewan.
Kat Torres: The Wellness Influencer Suspected of Human Trafficking
The wellness guru and self-proclaimed “witch” is accused of using manipulation and hypnosis to traffic young women.
A Cult That Worships Superintelligent AI Is Looking For Big Tech Donors
Amidst the hype over ChatGPT, artists are forming religious movements to worship our future machine overlords—and change them for the better.
Followers of Charismatic New Age Influencer Accused of Two Different Murders in Alabama
“I’m not a cult leader,” said Rashad Jamal, currently in jail on child molestation charges. “I stand for righteousness.”
Thousands Are Holed Up in a Politician’s Farm, Waiting for the End of the World
The Cambodian populist with a growing cult-like following told his followers that a black hole has formed in his spine, warning him of impending biblical-level floods.
Redditors Revived an Obscure Cult That Believes a 'Mass Harvesting of Souls’ Is Imminent
Amid the pandemic, a “trance channeling” group from the 1980s has seen a resurgence online. But why now?
She Fell in Love with a Colleague. Their Boss Was a Cult Leader.
Elsje and Jeppe met at a rehab clinic, but what she didn't know was that his life was totally controlled by a charismatic founder of a kung fu sect.
Disturbing Details Keep Emerging About This Bizarre Poop-Eating Cult
11 bodies were found during a raid of the commune in Thailand, where disciples of the self-proclaimed holy man were consuming his feces and dead skin.
How One Man Tried to Build a DMT-Based Cult on Reddit and Lost Everything
In his mid-50s, a depressed, Yale-trained scientist took a potent psychedelic, saw God, and set out to spread the word. Within two years, he was dead.