I’m going to be covering this a lot in the coming weeks, but here is something useful.
In the lead-up to the US Election, and in these confusing and unprecedented times, stay on guard. If you make a nice new friend that is an “activist” right now, and they are trying to recruit you to their shit, do be mindful of the Playbook I have been talking about for the last few months.
I don’t want to sow mistrust, and am not saying that anyone who is a new friend is instantly untrustworthy. I am saying that there is a distinct pattern of manipulative behaviour that you should treat as a big red flag.
If said “new friend” works in the following steps:
- Enters a popular community you’re in and tries to steer the narrative;
- Friends you and love bombs you;
- Tries to recruit you to their own Facebook Groups and activist pages away from the original group;
- Adds you to an email or SMS list or invites you to their events, and pressures you into what is known as “1:1 Meetings”;
- Continuously tries to control and organise what you post and who you talk to;
Chances are they aren’t your nice new friend and they see you as a “hot lead” for their cult. They may or may not be genuine, but chances are, if they are attached to something political, they’re either not genuine, or are being manipulated.
This is the Playbook at work.
The Playbook we’ll be going through in the coming weeks so you too can see this evil and manipulative stuff for what it is…. that weaponises people’s compassion and desire for connection, at a lonely time, for personal, political and economic gain.
They deliberately target vulnerable/lonely people using their “stories” and are using you as a lead/prospect. They use high pressure sales & manipulation techniques and cult recruitment tactics to get you to recruit for their “cause” (which is not a cause, it’s a racket).
Only those who know said Playbook intimately (as I do) are aware of what is happening, but is basically like Political MLM. 100% predictable, but suckers people in.
Don’t trust them.
How do you tell if someone sees you as a lead vs a friend?
What happens when you disagree or say no? Is there a guilt trip? Are there questions? Or is there high pressure sales going on, disguised as activism?
That’ll be your answer.