A key step in cementing a cult leader’s hold on his
followers is to isolate them from outside sources of information. This may be done through overt censorship, by
disallowing publications, or jamming unauthorized broadcasts, and blocking
internet sites – as was done in the old Soviet Union, and is still done in
China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. But there is a much easier way. If a cult leader has enough sway over the
minds of his followers, all he has to do is repeatedly and consistently
discredit outside sources of information.
When this is successful there is no need to block access; cult members
will do the censoring themselves, through peer pressure, and their own
cognitive dissonance – the phenomenon by which people will reject input that
directly conflicts with their core beliefs, rather than address the
contradiction.
Though less expensive to maintain than actual censorship,
the brainwashing necessary to get people to self-censor doesn’t happen
overnight. It takes time and consistency
– and a somewhat credulous population of cult members, who are willing to
single-source a version of the truth.
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