In my recent appearance on the Purham & Associates Show with Randy Purham, we waded into territory that makes a lot of people squirm: the uncomfortable overlap between cults, intelligence agencies, and mass manipulation. I brought up groups like Scientology, Jim Jones’ People’s Temple, and even Charles Manson’s “Family”... not because they’re quirky footnotes in history, but because they reveal a much darker playbook.
Most people don’t know this: a disturbing number of high-profile cults have documented or circumstantial ties to intelligence agencies. Whether it’s Manson’s strangely lenient treatment by law enforcement, or the CIA’s well-documented MKUltra experiments into mind control, you don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to see a pattern. The U.S. government has admitted it used unwitting citizens as test subjects for psychological and chemical experiments. That’s not speculation; it’s declassified history.
So when you see groups like Scientology with its bizarre mythology about aliens descending into the Pacific Ocean and indwelling humans, you’re looking at the perfect testing ground for social engineering. Cult recruiters don’t lead with the crazy stuff. They start small. They offer a personality test, a self-improvement seminar, a “safe” community. Slowly, step by step, they push adherents deeper until they’ll believe the utterly insane.
Sound familiar?
This isn’t just about fringe groups. What Randy and I were getting at is that these tactics have been weaponized on a mass scale. COVID proved the model. Governments, NGOs, and Big Tech coordinated to roll out the same psychological framework used by cults: isolate people, control the information they receive, introduce a unifying narrative, then escalate demands under the banner of “safety.” Before long, millions of normal people were parroting slogans, ostracizing dissenters, and accepting unprecedented government power... all while believing they were the “good” ones.
Randy was right to bring up MKUltra, COINTELPRO, and Operation Mockingbird. These aren’t internet rumors; they’re documented programs in which U.S. intelligence infiltrated movements, manipulated media, and studied how to steer public behavior. If you think those tactics were simply shelved after the 1970s Church Committee hearings, you’re not paying attention. They’ve only become more sophisticated, especially with the advent of social media algorithms.
What does this mean for us? It means the same techniques that could convince a college kid in the 1960s to join a death cult are now being used to convince entire populations to accept policies, narratives, and restrictions they would have rejected just a few years ago. Truth becomes irrelevant once propaganda and social pressure take root.
This is why I keep hammering the point: stop and ask yourself why you believe what you believe. Did you arrive at it through critical thinking and evidence? Or are you repeating what someone else told you, assuming it must be true because “everyone says so”? You might even be correct in your conclusions... but you’ll still be caught in a cult mentality if you’re not thinking for yourself.
We’re not helpless. The first step out of any cult, whether it’s a fringe religious sect or a mass propaganda campaign, is recognizing you’re being manipulated. The second is reclaiming your ability to discern truth. That’s why I built Pickax and why I write from a Biblical worldview: to help people anchor themselves in truth rather than narratives.
History shows the intelligence community has been testing the limits of psychological control for decades. COVID showed us the beta test going live. The question now is: will we wake up, or will we go along with the next mass manipulation because it feels safer than asking hard questions?
If you found this unsettling glimpse into mass manipulation compelling, you’ll want to dive deeper in my upcoming book Following the Leader, where I trace the hidden threads between cults, government psy‑ops, and how true resistance is built from within. Click here to pre-order your copy, and let’s dismantle the systems of obedience...together.
Catch The Jeff Dornik Show live every weekday at 1pm ET only on Rumble and Pickax, where free speech still reigns. Watch my full interview on Purham & Associates Show:
