How Online Conspiracy Groups Compare to Cults

[Host] The anti-vaccine movement continues to thrive,

in part, due to online misinformation groups.

For some, conspiracy theories are a way of life,

but as people go deeper down the rabbit hole,

are they joining a cult?

We asked a sociologist to walk us through

the similarities and the differences

between these online communities, and cults.

People do have this idea that all cults are religious,

which absolutely isn't true.

There's every kind of cult, therapy cult,

UFO cult, Eastern cults, new-age cults, you name it.

And of course, there are political cults.

Political cults can thrive just like any other cult.

They can be from the left or the right.

I, myself, was in a left-wing cult

back in the '70s and '80s.

People are forming online communities,

and finding the same sense of belonging and purpose,

as they would have in a physical group.

They do have the same kind of closed mindset

that we see in cult members.

We will not cower down to evil! We're Americans!

So it's important to realize

that it has nothing to do with religion,

it has to do with the behaviors of the group.

[Host] According to Dr. Lalich's framework,

cults share four behaviors, or characteristics:

a transcendent belief system, systems of control,

systems of influence, and a charismatic leader.

[Janja] The transcendent belief system

is the overarching ideology, gives you the answers

to the past, the present, and future.

So it's a new way for you to understand the world,

and your role in the world.

And it's exclusive, in that you're led to believe

that it is the only way to think,

it is the only true belief system.

And it's inclusive, in that when you are part of that,

you feel like you're a member of the elite, you're special,

and those other people who aren't part of it,

well, there's just something wrong with them.

[Host] A scroll through the messaging app, Telegram,

shows that online groups, like SABMYK,

generate misinformation.

They also forbid their members from being vaccinated.

[Janja] The QAnon movement, especially in its heyday,

the anti-vaxxer movement, they basically generate

that same kind of transcendent belief system.

And the anti-vaxxer movement, in its anti-science attitudes,

is saving us from this thing that's gonna get injected

into us, and it's gonna put a chip in us.

QAnon was saving us from the Satanist, and the evil-doers.

I'm sure people remember Pizza Gate,

and the idea that there are pedophiles

running the government.

And it got decent, honest people,

who cared about child abuse,

who cared about sex trafficking,

latching onto this as though this were the answer.

Sometimes these groups will have rallies and demonstrations

where they'll go out, and be, you know,

absolutely fervent, just roaring and raging,

and having the kind of exuberance for their own beliefs,

that that can seem quite frightening to those of us

who are watching from the outside.

What is the plan?

It's to save the world from the evils that are out there.

[Janja] One of the things you might notice,

when we look at cults, is that people are sometimes

doing things that seem unbelievable,

to those of us on the outside.

Why would someone go rob a bank,

who never would have done something like that before?

And this is part of that resocialization process,

where your sense of morality that you brought

into the group with you, is being altered,

so that you're taking on the morality,

or the immorality, of the cult leader.

And you'll end up doing things, that in any other context,

you wouldn't have done.

[Crowd Chants] USA! USA! USA!

[Janja] The kind of, Us versus them mentality

that's taken over, has really generated

this outward violence that we hadn't seen before.

So the systems of control are the sort of overt,

obvious rules and regulations of the group

that you must follow.

In some groups, you may be told where to live,

or who to live with.

In some groups, you may be told to divorce your spouse,

who doesn't want to be part of the group.

They may be telling you what to wear, what to eat.

It can be any of those kinds of things

that is part of stripping away your individuality.

[Host] Is there a parallel in online political groups?

[Janja] These online communities do have their own

systems of control, where people are expected

to speak a certain way, behave a certain way.

They'll wear T-shirts that are expressing their belief,

or their love for a certain idea.

Or there's obviously the kind of paraphernalia

that is familiar from those of us who've studied cults.

Those kinds of slogans are very useful,

you know, Lock her up.

[Crowd Chanting] Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!

[Janja] So systems of influence

are the more subtle manipulations of your emotions,

you know, guilt, shame, fear, love.

And one big part of the systems of influence

is the peer pressure.

The chanting of the slogans at the rallies

is one of the systems of influence.

[Crowd Chants] Where we go one, we go all!

[Janja] Because it's what we call,

A high arousal technique, that basically

gets the believer, or the follower, pumped up, right?

And when you get pumped up,

your critical thinking shuts down.

So when your critical thinking shuts down,

you're not able to question, What the hell am I doing?

Right?

You're just going along with the crowd,

and this kind of, you know, mass hysteria sets in,

where everybody's chanting the same thing,

sort of reaffirms your loyalty.

[Crowd Chants] Stop the steal! Stop the steal!

[Janja] We know from our studies of cults,

that one thing that they are, are closed systems.

I call them, Self-sealing systems.

The sort of clever, but also dangerous aspect,

of the online communities, is the way the algorithms work.

And so that you click on something, and before you know it,

you've- something else pops up, and then you click on that,

and you get led down these paths,

without maybe even realizing where you're going.

And without having time to think about it.

There is a risk in banning these groups

from the more public social media,

which has happened with some of the groups.

And then they go to the more secretive

social media platforms.

It's like falling down the rabbit hole,

before you know it, you're like lost in a world

of like-minded thinkers, and think you've found

a community that you feel part of.

And you're gone to the people who knew you before.

Well, the charismatic leader is someone

who has power over you.

It's a social relationship,

and it's based on this imbalance of power.

And it's actually not an attribute

that someone is born with,

but it's the fact that you attribute

that quality to that person,

and that's what gives them the power.

And then you are obligated to honor, and revere,

and worship that person.

And the charismatic leader is obligated

to be that charismatic leader, and do things

that makes him or her seem special.

[Host] So who would fill that role

in online communities?

[Janja] We don't necessarily see one leader

standing up to be the charismatic leader,

but there may be different people

who play that role at different times.

When Q was at its peak, and he was sending out messages,

and I think people did actually see him as a mystical,

untouchable, charismatic, messianic leader;

he had that kind of sway and power over people.

Q also was similar to the cult leaders

who say they have the direct line to God.

Q presented himself also as someone who was really

an insider, and knew exactly what was going on,

and that he was going to tell us and warn us

about the deep state, and things that were happening

in the government that were harming the American public.

Just about everybody I know,

has somebody in their family, or in their social network,

who has been lost to them.

[Host] With political divisions in America

at an all-time high, what advice does Dr. Lalich

have for someone trying to reconnect with a loved one

in an online group that feels cult-like?

[Janja] Another- a parallel to what we see in cults

is this concept of cognitive dissonance,

which means when reality butts up

against your belief system, 99% of the time,

people are going to stick with their belief system,

rather than go with reality, because it's what they know,

it's what their identity is wrapped up in,

and it's safer.

Everybody who's in one of these closed groups has doubts,

and they're never able to express those doubts.

We need to be compassionate to that person,

but I call it critical compassion,

because it's something you need to do very carefully.

So first you want to build rapport.

You want to bring back good memories

of things you did before.

Don't challenge the person, don't think,

Oh, I've got the best arguments.

It's only gonna drive that person deeper into

whatever it is they believe in.

So you have to think about how to connect with that person

again, in a way that is going to

just open up their eyes a little bit.

It may happen six months down the road,

and that's why I say, Never give up,

never give up hope, don't ever cut that person off.

Being in a cult, or being in one of these hateful groups,

there's a lot of loneliness and stress.

If that person can see a way out,

they'll take it one day, and they'll thank you.