“They Cut You Off From Everyone” - Cult Deprogrammer Breaks Down 764 Network, Scientology & NXIVM

This conversation with cult expert Rick Ross delves into the evolving landscape of cults in the digital age, exploring how leaders recruit and control followers online. The discussion spans the mechanics behind destructive cults, spotlighting notorious groups like NXIVM and Scientology as well as emerging extremist networks such as the 764 network targeting vulnerable youth. Rick Ross offers insights into the psychological manipulation, isolation tactics, and abuses common within these groups, while emphasizing the importance of accountability and awareness to recognize and resist such influences.

Starting a Cult in the Digital Age

Rick Ross explains that modern cults no longer rely solely on physical compounds or in-person gatherings; instead, they flourish online through social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Cult leaders create websites, livestream events, and organize retreats—often booked through services like Airbnb—to recruit members and generate revenue digitally via payment systems such as PayPal and Venmo. This shift not only broadens reach but makes recruitment and exploitation more insidious and ubiquitous. While the word "cult" can refer to benign dedicated followings, the destructive cult is characterized by a dictatorial leader demanding unquestioning loyalty, employing coercive persuasion techniques, and exploiting members financially, sexually, or emotionally.

The Anatomy of Destructive Cults

Central to destructive cults is the leader's absolute control over critical thinking, decision-making, and social relationships of followers. Members are gradually isolated from family and friends, living in an insular system where outside voices are demonized as evil or unreliable. This social isolation solidifies the leader's influence and fosters an alternate reality that members buy into unquestioningly. Ross highlights the transition point when leaders label the outside world as hostile, often justifying extreme behaviors or violence. Historical examples given include Shoko Asahara's deadly attack on the Tokyo subway and the tragic starvation of over 400 people, including children, in Kenya under Paul McKenzie's Good News International Church, emphasizing the horrific consequences of coercive control.

NXIVM: A Modern Cult Case Study

The conversation provides a deep dive into NXIVM and its enigmatic leader Keith Raniere, who masqueraded as a motivational coach but orchestrated a complex system of coercion branded by control, cash flow, and sexual exploitation. Ross outlines how Raniere appropriated tactics from other self-help groups and cults, including Scientology's vocabulary and disconnecting of dissenters. NXIVM required total commitment, isolating members by demanding relocation and obedience, often punishing those who questioned the group. A prominent feature was the branding of women with Raniere's initials, conducted without anesthesia by a medical doctor complicit in the abuse. Key co-conspirators like Nancy Salzman and actress Allison Mack facilitated and perpetuated the system. The group amassed over $100 million from wealthy supporters yet operated with the brutal dynamics of a cult, ending with Raniere's 120-year prison sentence.

Scientology: Influence, Control, and Controversy

Ross discusses Scientology's complex structure, noting the worship of founder L. Ron Hubbard and the continued authoritarian rule of his successor David Miscavige. Although Scientology enjoys religious exemptions and celebrity endorsements, Ross points out the stark division within its ranks between privileged celebrities and Sea Org members—full-time workers enduring harsh conditions under billion-year contracts. The auditing process, akin to high-tech confessional interrogation using an E-meter, serves to extract personal information, creating leverage over members. He recounts interventions with former Scientologists and how the group aggressively labels dissenters as suppressive persons, enforcing disconnection from family. Despite claims of scientific basis, practices like the purification rundown contradict established biology and provoke controversy, notably around attempts to introduce Scientology-based drug rehab programs into public schools. Ross describes the difficulty of leaving Scientology due to social isolation and coercive control.

International Church of Christ: Discipleship and Control

Another group examined is the International Church of Christ, founded by Kip McKeen, which at its peak boasted hundreds of thousands of members worldwide. Ross details how the church's strict discipleship model involved assigning every member a discipling partner and creating a rigid hierarchy with McKeen as the supreme leader. The church propagated exclusivity, insisting it was the only path to salvation and denigrated other Christian denominations. While less sexually exploitative, the organization exercised emotional control, isolating members from outside relationships and demanding significant financial and time commitments. McKeen's eventual stepping down for undisclosed "sins" and the group's decline illustrate the risks of unchecked authority and manipulative leadership in religious settings.

Lev Tahor: Religious Beliefs Masking Abuse

Ross describes the Lev Tahor sect, a radical offshoot of ultra-Orthodox Judaism notorious for child abuse, forced marriages of minors, and severe deprivation. Despite cloaking themselves in religious devotion, members practiced criminally abusive behavior, including physical violence and neglect of children's health. The group evaded authorities by moving between countries, notably creating compounds in Guatemala and attempting asylum in Iran, highlighting their desperate efforts to avoid accountability. Ross stresses this case exemplifies the difference between religious belief and harmful behavior, affirming that criminality—not theology—warrants intervention and condemnation.

The 764 Network: Online Extremism Targeting Youth

Turning to newer phenomena, Ross sheds light on the 764 network, a decentralized online group emerging in 2021 linked to child exploitation, self-harm, and violent extremism. The network operated internationally to groom vulnerable minors—especially those grappling with depression or isolation—recruiting them through video game communities and social media. Leaders like Prasan Nepal, also known by his online handle "Trippy," have been arrested and charged with running an international child exploitation enterprise. The group coerced minors into performing disturbing acts, livestreaming them as a form of both entertainment and punishment. Ross urges parents to be vigilant about their children's online activity, being attentive to changes in behavior or social withdrawal, which may signal harmful external influence.

Recognizing and Resisting Cult Influence

Throughout the discussion, Ross emphasizes practical criteria for identifying destructive groups. Signs include glorification and unquestioning worship of the leader, lack of organizational accountability especially financial transparency, stigmatization and shunning of former members, social isolation of followers, and the refusal to accept criticism. Healthy organizations encourage balanced lives outside the group and maintain openness to feedback. He also stresses that differing opinions—even within families—do not constitute brainwashing or cult involvement. True cult indoctrination involves coercive control that radically alters belief systems and behavior through deception and manipulation. Families and individuals should carefully evaluate the groups they or their loved ones engage with, seeking evidence of openness, honesty, and ethical treatment.

The Dynamics of Abuse and Manipulation in Relationships

Ross extends his analysis to personal relationships with cult-like characteristics, referencing high-profile cases involving celebrities such as Diddy. While he doesn't classify Diddy as a cult leader, he acknowledges the use of coercive control, intimidation, and abuse to dominate partners, paralleling tactics in destructive cults. Manipulated individuals often feel trapped in cycles of affection and degradation, unable to see clearly due to emotional dependence. Ross notes this pattern mirrors cult recruitment stages—initial affection followed by progressive isolation and control—underscoring the psychological mechanisms behind abuse both politically and personally.

The Role of Vulnerability and Trust in Recruitment

In closing, Ross highlights the common thread among cult victims: vulnerability during difficult life circumstances that leaves them seeking support and belonging. Cult recruiters exploit this by approaching potential members through trusted contacts or social networks, masking harmful intentions beneath a façade of assistance and community. Parents are urged to maintain strong family bonds and open communication to prevent youth from falling prey to exploitative groups. Understanding the nuanced difference between genuine belief and manipulated consent is essential in preventing the spread and harm of destructive cults today.