Posted on Mar 18, 2022
This former cult member is helping 'deprogram' QAnon believers
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When Diane Benscoter was 17, she met "the Messiah."
His name was Sun Myung Moon, the leader of a religious cult called the Unification Church. Benscoter joined "the Moonies," as Moon's followers came to be known, and spent the next five years of her life believing she'd found her purpose — even if she had to give her life for it.
"It was the most invigorating feeling that I had ever experienced. ...I suddenly knew what my life was about," Benscoter said. "And honestly, I don't know if I'll ever feel that much security, that much excitement again in my whole life."
That feeling may be impossible to replicate, but her time with the Unification Church did give Benscoter something to fight for: People who are being manipulated today like she once was.
For the "Moonies," it was all about Sun Myung Moon; for thousands of people today, it's "QAnon."
His name was Sun Myung Moon, the leader of a religious cult called the Unification Church. Benscoter joined "the Moonies," as Moon's followers came to be known, and spent the next five years of her life believing she'd found her purpose — even if she had to give her life for it.
"It was the most invigorating feeling that I had ever experienced. ...I suddenly knew what my life was about," Benscoter said. "And honestly, I don't know if I'll ever feel that much security, that much excitement again in my whole life."
That feeling may be impossible to replicate, but her time with the Unification Church did give Benscoter something to fight for: People who are being manipulated today like she once was.
For the "Moonies," it was all about Sun Myung Moon; for thousands of people today, it's "QAnon."
This former cult member is helping 'deprogram' QAnon believers
Posted from kuow.orgPosted in these groups: 
Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy Theories
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."QAnon was borne out of the far-right political movement, when an anonymous person, or persons, identified only as "Q" began posting elaborate conspiracy theories. Q claims to have inside knowledge of government secrets and has spread a range of lies, not unlike Moon; just as Moon claimed to be "the Messiah," Q has painted former President Donald Trump as a savior figure.
Benscoter's organization, Antidote, will soon offer workshops — consisting of eight, 90-minute sessions — to help participants learn how to break people away from QAnon. Antidote is scaling the individualized deprogramming techniques that saved Benscoter and others from cults in the past.
Like Moon, the disinformation spread by Q plays off people's fears and takes advantage of human vulnerability, Benscoter said.
And as the movement has grown, U.S. authorities increasingly see QAnon as a domestic terror threat, one that reaches across the globe, thanks to the internet.
Antidote's workshops will launch this spring; in the meantime, anyone in need of help can reach out to Antidote online.
Is QAnon a cult?
QAnon has been referred to as a cult, a political movement, and a worldview, among other things. Giving it a concrete definition is as difficult as mapping the range of ideas contained within it.
Catherine Wessinger is a professor of the history of religions at Loyola University New Orleans. In an article for the independent Religion Dispatches, Wessinger argues that describing QAnon as a cult is inaccurate and ineffective at helping people see the truth.
In contemporary society, the word 'cult' comes with a ready-made explanation that is illogically and pejoratively applied to groups and movements with differing characteristics. People are using the term 'cult' to stigmatize groups and movements that they simply do not like."...
..."QAnon was borne out of the far-right political movement, when an anonymous person, or persons, identified only as "Q" began posting elaborate conspiracy theories. Q claims to have inside knowledge of government secrets and has spread a range of lies, not unlike Moon; just as Moon claimed to be "the Messiah," Q has painted former President Donald Trump as a savior figure.
Benscoter's organization, Antidote, will soon offer workshops — consisting of eight, 90-minute sessions — to help participants learn how to break people away from QAnon. Antidote is scaling the individualized deprogramming techniques that saved Benscoter and others from cults in the past.
Like Moon, the disinformation spread by Q plays off people's fears and takes advantage of human vulnerability, Benscoter said.
And as the movement has grown, U.S. authorities increasingly see QAnon as a domestic terror threat, one that reaches across the globe, thanks to the internet.
Antidote's workshops will launch this spring; in the meantime, anyone in need of help can reach out to Antidote online.
Is QAnon a cult?
QAnon has been referred to as a cult, a political movement, and a worldview, among other things. Giving it a concrete definition is as difficult as mapping the range of ideas contained within it.
Catherine Wessinger is a professor of the history of religions at Loyola University New Orleans. In an article for the independent Religion Dispatches, Wessinger argues that describing QAnon as a cult is inaccurate and ineffective at helping people see the truth.
In contemporary society, the word 'cult' comes with a ready-made explanation that is illogically and pejoratively applied to groups and movements with differing characteristics. People are using the term 'cult' to stigmatize groups and movements that they simply do not like."...
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