In addition to ready-made stories for sale, the media can also produce scripts for more aggressive forms of state control.
Beyond the Leader. 2. The Legal Effects of Guilt by Association
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From the World
Beyond the Leader. 1. Guilt by Association and Stigma.
When leaders of religious minorities are accused of sexual crimes, media narratives can quickly mark the entire collective as either accomplices or victims.
France TV’s “Scientology, the Empire of Secrecy” (2026). 2. Mocking Belief and Silencing Believers
The public French broadcaster treated theology as a subject of ridicule and excluded Scientologists and independent experts from its show.
France TV’s “Scientology, the Empire of Secrecy” (2026). 1. Apostates and Media Rituals
A study of a one-sided documentary that gave voice only to angry ex-members and anti-cultists—a trend that repeats itself when the media deals with “cults.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses: After Norway, Sweden Also Rediscovers Neutrality and Religious Freedom
A Stockholm court overturns the state’s attempt to police doctrine, restoring equal access to public support for a minority faith.
Scientology Behind the Climb? Anti-Cult Narratives, and the Nardi Case
An Italian mountaineer who was a Scientologist died in 2019 in the Himalayas. Apostate ex-members and the media manipulated the incident to blame the “cult.”
From Russia with Hate: How Russia Sponsored Attacks on French Places of Worship
Serbian court verdicts quietly revealed that Moscow intelligence financed desecrations of synagogues and mosques in France. by Massimo Introvigne The synagogue Agoudas Hakehilos was spray-painted green on May 31, 2025. From X. It is uncommon in the busy world of...
Not-So-Strange Bedfellows: The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Cult Movement
Is the SPLC federal indictment a reckoning for the anti-cult “experts” network?
Crimes Against Humanity Targeting the Unification Church in Japan. 2. What the Precedents Tell Us
The documented treatment of members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Japan falls squarely within the established precedents.
Crimes Against Humanity Targeting the Unification Church in Japan. 1. Deprogramming
The violation of devotees’ human rights may meet the threshold for crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute.