Also, cults never refer to themselves as a cult. No, we're just a friendly congregation, a group of people. But never a cult.

No cult member will ever admit they belong to a cult.

DO not underestimate how tenacious these people can be. I never joined a cult, but I was hounded before by a cult to the point of having stalkers and death threats. Be careful people.

It's often left out of the story that the people in Jonestown were forced to drink the poison by guards pointing firearms at them... Many knew they were gonna die and didn't want to, but they felt they had no choice, which they really didn't.

My mom: You should join a club! It’s a great way to make friends! Me:

I just feel sorry for the kids being dragged into this madness.

Being in india i can very well relate to this. Cult leaders are so famous here-people like sadhguru and baba ramdev have millions of followers . I hope one day my people regain their common sense !!

So, apparently my family was in a cult before I was born and I heard the story from my sisters. It sounded really horrific and creepy. They would hold prayer sessions at our house and have at turn hundreds of people in the living room. They would all eat and feed each other from 1 big plate and the worst part is the children were forced to be a part of this! My sister didn’t want to be fed by strange people she didn’t know but she was scolded for refusing. It’s honestly really weird.

This video should be shown every year to students in grades 7-12.

"Believing in something should not come at the cost of your family and friends" true 100%

Heart goes out to any friends or family of those in a cult. Keep being there for them and pressing in

This surprisingly applies very well with today's internet influencers as well. Not all of them, but most tend to have this type of cult habit to them. Have any of you noticed this?

I was born into a cult and was part of it for the first almost 15.5 years of my life. I've only been out of it for almost a couple of years. I'm still trying to retrain my brain from purging what I was taught there. Cults are dangerous, toxic places. Everyone should be informed. Informative video, thank you.

"the law can stop dangerous cults" also the law: *accepts bribes to leave cults open*

For such a serious topic, the art style in this one is beautiful!

Excellent video - it is missing musicians and politicians in their ability to coerce and persuade cult like followers. This is is huge right now and should certainly be added to the content of this excellent expose. Keep up the great work - Cheers~

“We could make a religion out of this” -bill wurtz

Whether it's a Cult, a club, a team, or ISIS, it all stems from the need to belong.

This channel is excellent as it covers a wide range of valuable topics. I did not expect to see this topic here. I had seen a cult on campus before. He fits in many criteria described in the video. It is better to be alone than be manipulated. If we don´t feel comfortable, something should be wrong. Trust our gut feeling and leave ASAP.

As someone who found out I was being recruited into a cult this hits hard. Imagining all the things I could've ended up as.

If you don't think for yourself, somebody will do the thinking for you.

"they drank the cool-aid" is such an interesting phrase.

Thank you TED-Ed for educating the public about cults. I was in the Jehovah's Witnesses cult.

I have watched this several times. It is so well done!

Criteria of a cult: 1. Founder(s) has/have more advantages than the rest of the members 2. Severe punishment for leaving it (death is a prime example) 3. Discourages critical thinking and criticism often punishing those who criticize the cult

"Cults cut you off from your family and friends." My dude, I was born 2nd generation in a cult. The only people I knew growing up were members. Running away to leave the cult is exactly what cut me off from everything I had ever known.

I know that you tried to say cults are different from established religions but your explanation about what a cult is is what I experienced as an evangelical christian.

I HIGHLY recommend showing this simple video to your family and church's youth group.

I learnt in psychology that we follow orders and sometimes don’t feel bad for taking them even if it’s a cruel thing we’re ordered to do bc we don’t feel we’re responsible for them.

This video hits really close to home. I grew up in a cult and it has inflicted a lot of psychological problems for me even up until today, years after I left the cult. The cult has robbed me of a chance for having a normal childhood and a proper education. The cult has broken my family apart and leaving me with a strained relationship towards my family. They still spout the cult's propaganda at me and pressures me to rejoin them. I know that they are victims as well, but I don't think I can ever forgive my parents for subjecting me to what I went through. Thank you TED-Ed for making this video and I hope more people could see this video and be educated towards cults and how they work.

This was put together so well!

"I've been involved with a number of cults, both as a leader and as a follower. You have more fun as a follower but you make more money as a leader." -Creed Bratton

in south korea, there's a cult called shincheonji and this is one of their recruitment method first, cult member tell to his(or her) co-worker who believe ghost or destiny that he(or she) will have car accident while he driving second, another cult member follow that co-worker and make car accident on purpose third, co-worker is now wondering how that cult member predict the car accident and ask how he knows that fourth, cult member bring his co-worker to the cult church and preach to him and finally, that co-worker become new member of cult

I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower, but you make more money as a leader. -Creed Bratton

my friend is in cult and seeing how it affacts her life is the most heart breaking feeling. but i can't do anything because they are a well known "church" in korea so the worst thing to do is argue against them. i hope there is miracle..

It really depresses me when I think about how much nearly all cults follow the same patterns. Read about enough of them and the stories start becoming maddeningly predictable. The playbook is so well established, you don't have to be particularly clever or creative to become a cult leader. All it requires is that you have no conscience.

When you said it's like a pyramid scheme, I remembered the time when I was invited to one. The new "members" or at least the ones invited were separated. We were seated at least 2-3 members apart, some of them were in uniform so you would know they were already a member, but some were not. During the speech of the founders, they encourage you to shout something while clapping when the founder said a certain word. Noticeably, people who were not members would not do that but people beside us would so they were trying to get us to do them. They we're trapping us as well. They wouldn' let us leave, people were blocking the doorways and people beside us will try to talk to us like "Oh wow this is such an amazing group" "you have to stay" or "It will get better, you have to be patient". I was still a student at this time and I was very annoyed because I still had school tomorrow and it was getting really late but they kept telling us that school will not do anything for us, that they just take our money and leave us hanging after we graduate. Also that we should join them so we can be successful like them. They would also tell stories about how they stole a bit of their parents money to invest and now they're rich so it's okay to steal because its for the better future, and I was like WHAT? I started to visibly and vocally turn against them because things they said before technically isn't bad but this time they were encouraging us to do crime. I mean speaking up in the hall was very dangerous but I don't think they would do anything in front new recruits. They were trying to get me to talk to them quietly in a corner but when I saw one of the new members getting to leave, I told them I will leave with that person because we live in the same neighborhood and it's not safe for a girl like me to go home alone. They let me leave with that person and oof I'm glad I got out of that safe.

Thank you so much for not writing Jonestown as a mass suicide. I always get so frustrated when people say it was suicide and not a mass murder.

Thank you for this video! I am working on learning about cults to help a family member and trying to connect to as many cult survivors as possible to understand their mindset of when they were indoctrinated

Thank you for clarifying that not all religious people are cults. 😭💞

Honestly after seeing Midsommar, I got very intrigued at how easily we can be manipulated into cults, it just shows a lot of ourselves and how far people can go for affection and a community to rely on

Introverts watching this video knowing that they will never join a cult : *I see this as an absolute win*

I’m autistic and have a special interest in cults, resulting in my friends and I investigate a nearby, dangerous like all other cults, and scary cult in our town. We are definitely in danger and starting to regret doing this but I can back this video up 100%. We have started taken extreme precautions but one of my friends and I are in more danger than the rest. That’s just a fragment of our story, stay safe and take precautions.

I’ve always wondered how people could be so easily susceptible to things like this. People need to start having a stronger mind for themselves!

Unfortunately, abusive relationships work in similar ways too. Except the beliefs arent' reinforced by multiple people, which makes you question whether you are sane or not.

“Some cults are political” Stalin: *coughs in the background*

I was thrown out of a cult for being 'rebellious'. All I did was stick up for myself. My then girlfriend was angry at me for leaving and tried to pressure me into going back. It didn't work.

Crazy how much of this can be attributed to a fandom 😮

"I’ve been involved in a number of cults both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower but you make more money as a leader." Creed bratton

Got a tiktok ad before the vid *whispers: tiktok is a cult*

In their own twisted way cults really show the power of social and spiritual connections. That we all deeply desire to be loved, connect with others, and be given a purpose. These desires drive so many aspects of our lives that it makes sense why one could exploit them for personal gain.

Thank u for this video. Now i finally understand the difference between religions and cults.

I grew up in a cult. It is difficult to risk that kind of stability and friendship that only cults its seems can achieve for freedom of thought and conscience. When I left I never expected to have really good friends again and I was extremely lonely. The normal culture is less willing to make instant and reliable friends, that's true, but if you're there don't give up.

"It was Flavor Aid, dammit!" Should be the Kool-Aid marketing slogan.

Please translate this video to every language in the world. We need this.

this video is great when it explains cults, and impacts.

I just wanna come back to this video and give a big thank you--it helped me to realize that I had been in a cult after all and was major in helping me get closure and understanding from the abuse I went through.

I was in a cult for a few years. I was lonely and withdrawn. The cult helped me to socialize and genuinely helped to improve my life. But it wanted everything. All of my time, my money and wanted to choose who I marry. When I saw how they arranged marriages of some members I knew I had to leave. It was hard leaving. So many good people there.

I recently left spirtual cult and getting back to life. Somehow I knew there was something off the whole time, most of the time they prey on the most vulnerable. This can include someone who just lost a loved one, getting out of an abusive relationship, losing a job, and many more examples. If you feel something is off, you are 100% right.

Steven Hassan's BITE model to judge the cult-ality of a group is a really useful tool.

cults are going to be a big problem in the future with people becoming more and more isolated & lonely.

I had a friend who was part of a religious cult. I saw what that did to him, how it shaped his life, his beliefs, and his behaviour. It was terrible watching him and his family in this controlled and isolated life. I wanted him to be happy, something that I knew he couldn’t do. Thank you Ted Ed, for bringing awareness of the terrible things that cults can do.

This Channels great as it is unbiased. Is this a genuine Ted Talks Channel?

With the news of the SBSI cult in the Philippines now being investigated by the Senate, UKposts really recommended this video at the best time. Thanks YT algorithm for giving me a reason to share this.

I just love the animation.

I joined the Blue Öyster Cult. I struggled not to fear the reaper, but kept quiet to avoid being rebuked. In the end, after many failed attempts to be like the wind and the sun and the rain, I left that Cult behind.

Great video thank you

This was said beautifully. Thank you very much.

“When somebody tells you you to sacrifice your relationships for the greater good” *Tau empire intensifies*

The psychology behind this is fascinating. I can see parallels between being surrounded by religion and being part of a cult as a child. Both engulf the child in an ideology that makes it very hard for them to question it - which eventually leads to psychological stunting as stated in the video.

the slight shaking of the camera is so ominous...good work animators!

Thx for this video im gonna use this info when I grow up

So all this can be avoided by not having friends? All the more power for me.

"You get fun as a follower. But make more money as a leader" - Creed The office

Thanks for the video. I recently was invited to one of those lifespring, landmark workshops and after spending some money i decided to look more into it and its a cult. Now im trying to get my friends out of it

I've been trying to learn more about how the scientology cult has so many people in it and this was so informative. Thank you.

My father never avoids the Jehovah's Witnesses when they come. He points out something that's obviously not what they believe but it's in the bible. The result is that they leave in disgust and never come back.

This is so accurate that it actually physically hurts me. Because literally everyone around me is so blind to see it and I can't help them see it.

Thank you for this 👏

"I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader" -Creed Bratton, 2007

UKposts seriously needs a mentioning feature so we can tag people who need to see this

dunno, ask Tom Cruise

This is so important to know.

beautifully made. the talk and the animation. for me the cult was a network marketing company shockingly it was legal

DON'T DRINK THE KOOLAID!!! Never drink the Koolaid!

Them: they drank the kool-aid Me: *_finally gets that camp camp reference_*

Love you and thank you ✊🏽

This sounds like some churches nowadays. And when you try to leave they throw every single "help" they ever gave you in your face.....

This is exactly how I joined a fandom

I was in a pseudo-Buddhist cult for four years. The practice itself was Mahayana Buddhist, howbeit the cult was more about the leader than Buddhism. Along with the empty promises that were not realized when I gave of time and money, the heavy focus on the leader was just too much for me. I left and I feel sorry for anyone who was born into the cult.

This vídeo is interesting!!!! Whaching...❤👏👏👏

great video it is so good that it trigerred me to comment for the first time on something that is irrelevant to music

wish i could have the first 22 years of my life back.

The moral: Think for yourself

I joined a group psychotherapy cult run by a licensed, well respected older man with all the right credentials. He took advantage of how group therapy inclines people to follow orders inside the group and mimic his behaviors. People who questioned him were ignored, mocked, criticized, and put on the spot for 'resisting the group process' or 'making themselves different' or 'having an issue with their father that they have to work through him.' He had good advice and training too, but that abusive, salesman like, misleading and manipulative manner of his turned everyone in the group into a person who was mean to their family and other things too. You had to come every week, and when I skipped two weeks, he called me saying 'The danger is that you quit just when things are getting really good in therapy.' So he had all the right words, repeating over and over that his group was 'the perfect place to work on your issues, career, school, family, dating and everything.' He claimed to understand feelings and be able to get into your head, and told people to 'be open and honest and say how they feel.' This was a horror show, but he would only boast about the bad things he did to make it look like he knew something people don't because he is the therapist.

Thank you for Sharing

I felt so identified. Wasted a whole year of my life devoting myself to a guru called “Mooji”, which led me to distancing myself from family and friends. I was lucky to have people who cared about me to drag me out from that hole.

"Believing in something should not come at the cost of your family and friends, and if someone tells you to sacrifice your relationships or morality for the greater good, they're most likely exploiting you for their own."

Great video. I agree with everything that was said. Cults are extremely dangerous.

As a very religious man (who is currently in seminary) my fiancé (then girlfriend) was approached by cult recruiters and went to “Bible Studies” with them for a while, before she was “granted” membership me and her figured out something was amiss. The primary difference between a genuine Protestant denomination and a cult is their structure, a normal Christian denomination usually has a pastor or congregation/deacons and deaconesses running the group, where a cult usually has a top down structure wherein a charismatic leader instructs members as to exactly how to act. I should also add that a genuine church usually wont try to infiltrate your personal life and break you off from reality, and hopefully instead would inspire a wholistic Christian lifestyle and encourage community bonding between both you and your community as well as the Church community.