News
FBI Investigating an Insular, Nameless Religious Group Undergoing Sexual Abuse Reckoning
Agents are said to have visited at least one senior member of the group, sources tell VICE News.
Anna Merlan
2.21.24
News
Joe Rogan and Bret Weinstein Promote AIDS Denialism to an Audience of Millions
Weinstein repeated discredited theories to Rogan about HIV not being the cause of AIDS, alarming and infuriating public health experts.
Anna Merlan
2.15.24
News
Did a Group of Young Black Spiritual Seekers Vanish Due to an ‘Online Cult’?
As police and families search for six people missing from the St. Louis area, rumors and half-truths swirl around their involvement with Rashad Jamal, a spiritual influencer now in prison for child abuse.
Tim Marchman
Anna Merlan
1.18.24
News
A Longtime Associate of Tim Ballard’s Is Rebuilding Operation Underground Railroad
The organization says it has cut ties with its disgraced founder and CEO. Jeff Frazier, charged with ushering in a new era, has a long and complex relationship with Ballard.
Anna Merlan
Tim Marchman
1.10.24
tunnels
Hidden Passageway Beneath New York Chabad Building Drives Chaos and Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories
As “tunnelgate” circulates on Twitter, the far right and the broader conspiratorial universe seize on an irresistible combination of words.
Anna Merlan
1.9.24
Timothy Ballard
Tim Ballard’s Most Powerful Friends Are All Denouncing Him
As allies abandon him, the anti-trafficking star’s disgrace appears to have prematurely ended the career of Utah’s attorney general, a close friend.
Anna Merlan
Tim Marchman
12.12.23
Direct Action Everywhere
Three Animal Rights Activists Were Abruptly Arrested Following a Sentencing Hearing for One of Their Friends
Authorities seem to be opening a new front against Direct Action Everywhere, an attention-grabbing group that says it documents cruelty and neglect in factory farming.
Anna Merlan
12.1.23
News
Pizzagate Rears Its Head Again, and Not Just Because of Elon Musk
A shape-shifting conspiracy theory that’s grown ancient by internet standards finds a new audience, again, with help from the world’s richest man.
Anna Merlan
11.30.23
operation underground railroad
Marine Veteran Sues Tim Ballard and OUR Over Sexual Assault Claims, Injuries Suffered In Training
“OUR only focused on allowing its celebrity founder, defendant Tim Ballard, to live the lavish lifestyle of a wealthy sex tourist and sexually manipulate and abuse employees, contractors, and volunteers,” the suit reads.
Anna Merlan
Tim Marchman
11.21.23
operation underground railroad
A Private Island, Downloads From God, and the 'Couples Ruse': Inside the Dangerous World of Tim Ballard's Operation Underground Railroad
A female operator who worked with the controversial anti-trafficking group knew someone was going to get seriously hurt. She just didn't expect that it would be her.
Tim Marchman
Anna Merlan
11.16.23
Abuse Scandals
A Nameless, Insular Religious Sect Is Being Rocked by a Massive Sexual Abuse Scandal
Known to outsiders as the “Two by Twos,” a little-known community is reckoning with a far-reaching scandal over sexual abuse, accountability, and power.
Anna Merlan
10.12.23
tim ballard
Five of Tim Ballard’s Alleged Victims Have Filed a Lawsuit Against Him
The founder of the anti-trafficking group OUR has been sued by several accusers, who say he used their faith and visions from a psychic to sexually coerce them.
Anna Merlan
10.10.23
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