Regular readers know that I often offer a critical analysis of Big Tech and am wary of the disproportionate role it is playing in how the majority of us are being socialized. This week, in one of my graduate courses, I gave a lecture on the group dynamics that drive cult membership, and a student asked a question regarding the intersection between the psychology behind cults and radicalization processes and extremism. Another student followed up with a question regarding how conspiracy thinking relates to cults. As we started to make connections regarding the underlying psychological mechanisms that drive all of these processes, we came upon another revelation.

Extremist groups like cults, conspiracy thinking, which has become rampant in a digital age, and the types of political radicalization that are proliferating in online spaces are all related to the same underlying process, which is that of scam culture. Scam culture is defined as predatory processes that exploit individual vulnerabilities for profit. For instance, conspiracy thinking is often promoted by prominent influencers in online spaces as a way to not only advance their content but specifically monetize and profit off of users’ fears.

It has been well established that both mis- and........

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