NXIVM, Drama, MLM, neo-Nazis, Extremism, DeviantArt, The Base, Cult Recovery, Biderman's Chart of Coercion
"Federal prosecutors are recommending a lenient sentence for trial witness Lauren Salzman, a former high-ranking member of the Capital Region-based sex cult, NXIVM.They say Salzman provided "substantial assistance" to the court about the criminal activities of Keith Raniere, the former leader of NXIVM, and his co-conspirators. They say her cooperation was essential in convicting Raniere, and that her decision to plead guilty likely played a role in other defendants' decisions to do the same."
Netflix: Rebirth
"WHAT SEPARATES A CULT from other groups of passionate, like-minded people coming together in service of shared beliefs? Religions, political groups, multi-level marketing businesses, and self-help movements all fit the bill. The most common answers to this question are probably "a charismatic leader," "no free will," or "the inability to leave whenever you want."
This 2016 film proves how dangerous a cult can be — all while making a point to avoid these traditional cult calling cards.
Rebirth is a 2016 Netflix original psychological drama written and directed by Karl Mueller. It stars criminally overlooked actor Fran Kranz as Kyle, a loving husband and father who uses his English degree to write social media posts for a bank. One day, an old friend tells him about a unique self-help weekend retreat known only as 'Rebirth.'"
"The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by extremists to exploit the Internet and social media platforms to recruit followers and incite violence. CEP researchers located over a dozen neo-Nazi propaganda accounts on DeviantArt that encouraged violence and glorified white supremacism. CEP researchers also found multiple neo-Nazi accounts on Instagram that posted white supremacist propaganda and drawings of the Christchurch attacker, as well an account that offered knives and pepper spray for sale. CEP also located a white supremacist clothing store on Etsy. On Facebook, nine pro-ISIS accounts were discovered. Finally, an extreme right prisoner support group encouraged the sending of "white identity" magazines to incarcerated individuals.Neo-Nazi Propaganda That Promotes Violence and Hate Located on DeviantArtThe week of July 11 to July 17, CEP researchers located over a dozen accounts on DeviantArt that posted propaganda that encouraged violence, sought to recruit for an extremist group or glorified white supremacism.The oldest account had been on the sight for approximately two years, while the most recent account, which posted a wide variety of neo-Nazi content, including content promoting white supremacist mass shooters Patrick Crusius and Robert Bowers, had been created in July 2021. An account that had been created on DeviantArt in March 2021 posted recent propaganda from the neo-Nazi group The Base, which included a recruitment email address for the group. An account also created in March 2021 posted content praising the Christchurch terrorist attack and encouraging additional violence. At least three DeviantArt accounts had similar usernames as two individual users of the Fascist Forge forum and posted remarkably similar images to art and propaganda that appeared on the forum.DeviantArt's Terms of Service prohibit using the site "to upload, post, or otherwise transmit any material that is…offensive…unlawful, threatening, menacing, abusive, (or) harmful." While several pieces of content were removed after they were reported, numerous pieces of reported content, including those that glorified white supremacist mass shooters, sought to recruit for a neo-Nazi extremist group, and posted various neo-Nazi symbols remained on the site."
CultRecovery101: Biderman's Chart of Coercion
" ... Warning signs: The seed of extremism exists wherever a group demands all the free time of a member, insisting he be in church every time the doors are open and calling him to account if he isn't, is critical or disapproving of involvements with friends and family outside the group, encourages secrecy by asking that members not share what they have seen or heard in meetings or about church affairs with outsiders, is openly, publicly, and repeatedly critical of other churches or groups (especially if the group claims to be the only one which speaks for God), is critical when members attend conferences, workshops or services at other churches, checks up on members in any way, i.e., to determine that the reason they gave for missing a meeting was valid, or makes attendance at all church functions mandatory for participating in church ministry or enjoying other benefits of church fellowship.Once a member stops interacting openly with others, the group's influence is all that matters. He is bombarded with group values and information and there is no one outside the group with whom to share thoughts or who will offer reinforcement or affirmation if the member disagrees with or doubts the values of the group. The process of isolation and the self doubt it creates allow the group and its leaders to gain power over the members. Leaders may criticize major and minor flaws of members, sometimes publicly, or remind them of present or past sins. They may call members names, insult them or ignore them, or practice a combination of ignoring members at some times and receiving them warmly at others, thus maintaining a position of power (i.e., the leaders call the shots.)"
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
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