Why can’t we look away from stories about cults?
I spoke with Forbes contributor R. Daniel Foster for this story:
“The Cult Content Boom: What’s Behind Our Obsession?”
Below is a brief extract from the article. Please visit Forbes to read the full story here.
“What’s behind the fixation with cults? “The fascination with cults fundamentally rests in the idea that people believe that they can’t be drawn into one,” says Dr. Mara Einstein, author of Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults (Prometheus, 2025). “The first step in the recruitment process is to find vulnerable people. We are all vulnerable at some point in our lives—we’ve moved to a new town, gotten a divorce, lost a loved one—which means we could all be lured into a cult.”
The definition of cult has broadened, fueling greater interest. About 50 years ago, a cult was equated with the word “dangerous.” Think Jim Jones, the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas and the Manson Family cult led by Charles Manson. “Because of digital media, the definition has expanded to be closer to the 17th century one, when cults were groups that venerated a person or ideology,” says Einstein, who is a professor at Queens College, City University of New York.”