网络让“邪教式”操控从线下招募转向线上渗透，并伴随数量上升与碎片化：法国政府机构 MIVILUDES 在 2024 年记录了 4,500+ 起疑似邪教活动报告，较 2015 年水平翻倍以上，且多数涉及线上活动。ICSA 目前追踪全球 4,000+ 个此类强制性群体，而 1980 年代约为 2,000 个，显示长期翻倍趋势。
碎片化同样可量化：ICSA 1978 年调查约 400 名前成员集中在 40 个组织，而最新调查中 900+ 名前成员分散在 540 个群体（约 13.5 倍组织数、约 2.25 倍成员数）。青年风险更高：2024 年法国案例中近五分之一涉及未成年人，Europol 也警告线上邪教胁迫青少年走向暴力的上升。
监管与执法呈现两极与高门槛：法国 2001 年将“欺诈性滥用弱势”入罪，2024 年改革进一步禁止“心理臣服”，比利时采取类似框架，但对比利时“sect”案件的研究显示 93% 调查因缺乏犯罪而结案。公众定义也被稀释：一项为《经济学人》进行的 YouGov 民调中，42% 受访者称 MAGA 是邪教，认为 QAnon 是邪教的比例相同；在典型刑案中，NXIVM 创始人 Keith Raniere 因多项罪名被判 120 年，而创伤支持资源紧缺（如西班牙专家 Laura Merino 每年治疗 150+ 名患者并因容量不足拒收数十人）。
Internet-enabled coercive groups increasingly recruit and control people online, with rising scale and splintering: France’s MIVILUDES logged 4,500+ reports of suspected cult activity in 2024, more than double the 2015 level, and most involved online communities. Globally, ICSA now tracks 4,000+ coercive groups versus roughly 2,000 in the 1980s, indicating a decades-long doubling.
Fragmentation is measurable: an ICSA 1978 survey found about 400 former members clustered in 40 organisations, while its latest survey has 900+ former members spread across 540 groups (about 13.5× more groups and about 2.25× more former members). Youth exposure is disproportionate, with nearly one in five French cases in 2024 involving a minor, alongside Europol warnings about online cults coercing teenagers into violence.
Legal responses diverge and prosecution remains hard: France criminalised “fraudulent abuse of weakness” in 2001 and in 2024 expanded to outlaw “psychological subjugation,” while a study of Belgium’s “sect” cases found 93% of investigations closed with no legal action. Public labeling is also inflated—42% in a YouGov poll for The Economist called MAGA a cult, the same share as QAnon—yet serious cases do lead to major sentences, such as NXIVM founder Keith Raniere’s 120-year term, amid scarce specialist care (e.g., Spain’s Laura Merino treats 150+ patients a year and turns away dozens more).
Source: Social media are helping cults to recruit and control members
Subtitle: The internet has replaced door-to-door evangelists with online influencers
Dateline: 1月 08, 2026 06:58 上午