Thread by @CultExpert

Have you ever had a friend from high school who is involved in multi-level marketing? Their feeds become a wash of inspirational quotes and videos trying to sell & recruit others.

Did you know that many multi-level marketing schemes are actually CULTS?

Let's talk about it: 🧵

There are 5 main types of cults:

Religious cults
Psychotherapy/educational cults
Political cults
Cults of personality
Commercial cults

Multi-level marketing when it's predatory falls into the "commercial cult" category. These cults prey on people's desire for wealth & power.

Like other authoritarian cults, predatory multi-level marketing has a pyramid structure with members at the bottom making money for people further up the pyramid. Quite regularly, most of the money people make (which doesn't occur 99% of the time btw) is from recruiting others.

MLMs often require STEEP initial investments and promise MASSIVE returns in a short period of time. They sell fanciful dreams of never-ending wealth and financial independence. They also employ classic cult tactics.

Remember my BITE Model?

(The BITE model is a tool I developed describing the SPECIFIC methods cults use to recruit & maintain control over people. BITE stands for:

Behavior Control
Information Control
Thought Control
Emotional Control

In particular, MLM's employ information and emotional control.

MLM's often use “love bombing” to entice new members. Love bombing is a cult tactic that attempts to draw people in by BOMBARDING them with affection (emotional control). This was the tactic used on ME leading me to join the Moonie cult.

Online love bombing is called "swarming."

It's also common for MLM's to take advantage of people’s insecurities. For example, recruiters tell women that joining the MLM will help them become the ideal wife or mother. Men are told that joining will bring them the financial success required to be a “real man.”

MLM's also employ information control. Many MLM's tell their members to block anybody who speaks out against the MLM on social media (effectively CENSORING the information they see). They are also told any lack of success is because THEY aren't trying or "believing" hard enough.

Some prominent examples of predatory MLM's include Amway, Herbalife, Mary Kay & LuLaRoe.

Did you know Trump was involved in an MLM? “The Trump Network” sold vitamins, “mood infusion beverages" & other "health" products.

Check out how scammy this looks:

I recently interviewed Roberta Blevins (@bertalikewhoa). Roberta is an anti-MLM advocate who was formerly a LuLaRoe distributor. Roberta also appears in the documentary “LuLaRich"

This is a great blog with tips on PROTECTING yourself from MLM recruiting.
freedomofmind.com/lularoe-and-th…