Weekly Cult Roundup
Here's what I heard and read this week.
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Heard
“...and now his obscene wealth is going to cushion him from a lot of the consequences…”
Episode 132 of the Conspirituality podcast, “Ye, Balenciaga, & Twilight Zone Propaganda (w/Francesca Tripodi)” is a lot. I mean that in terms of length (the episode is over an hour and a half long) and in terms of and content (they cover a lot of topics). The podcasters do a great job of drawing links between the power of right wing “shockvertising,” including Ye’s pro-Hitler stance and Balenciaga’s viral BDSM inspired shoot. What I love most is that they do an excellent job of responding to many of the inaccuracies that fuel both types of shocking and hateful ideology.
Read
The program was described as HOTO, or "Helping Others To Overcome."
In this article, Pratyush Dayal exposes a shifty pastor who stole over $12,000 from his parishioners. Pastor Jonnahs Amissih convinced his followers to invest in their “community” through money circles that would provide a quadruple return on their investments. He lied. After an investigation and subsequent lawsuit, followers realized they had been involved in a pyramid scheme. Amissih and his attorneys argued that the payments were “voluntary community contributions” which meant he was not individually responsible if contributors did not make any money back.
He also told them they weren’t “bringing in enough new 'members' to supplement the seed money required for the scheme to operate.” Review this Weekly Cult Roundup issue about MLMs and financial schemes.
P.S.
This week I’m releasing a video on Samuel Bateman, a polygamist cult leader facing trafficking charges. The story is still developing, but here’s what you should know:
He is a former member of FLDS
He left and now has 50-99 followers of his own
He has taken about 20 “wives” from as young as nine years old