One of America's most influential newspapers is the Washington times
so it might surprise you to hear it was founded by a cult
in 1982 it was launched by Sun Moon
a North Korean man who claimed to have met Jesus
known to his followers as true father he was revered as a prophet
that same year he was convicted for tax fraud
yet with millions of followers he was able to fund his newspaper with billions of dollars
he died in 2012 but the cult is still going strong
since the 1960s they have been famous for their mass weddings
ceremonies where thousands of members marry strangers
this might all sound quite strange
but as far as cults go the unification church is pretty basic
many cults are stranger and more obscure
in the midst of world war two
European and American military presence increased in the South Pacific Ocean
but many of the islands they occupied already had people living there
now I know what you're thinking
why would anyone live on an island?
there's no reason for them to
but they did
and when the army showed up with modern vehicles and equipment they were mesmerized
the soldiers were well fed and supplied
but never actually created the goods themselves
in time they noticed the goods were supplied via cargo
either dropped from the sky or shipped in
understandably the islanders began to believe the cargo was sent by some kind of higher power
and that the marching the soldiers did was a ritual to summon the cargo
some said the soldiers were gods themselves
but in time a more sinister belief emerged
they came to see the soldiers as evil
that the cargo was actually intended for the islanders
and the soldiers steal it with their advanced technology
that might sound silly but remember these people had little knowledge of the outside world
factories and the age of industrialization was a different universe
so on dozens of islands across the pacific
islanders formed this same belief system
despite being isolated from each other
if the war had not ended when it did in 1945
there might have been a conflict over it between the soldiers and natives
but instead the soldiers left many of the islands
taking the precious cargo with them
so the natives tried to do the same rituals they had witnessed during the war
marching around with wooden poles to mimic rifles
they dug their own runways and built model airplanes out of wood
they carved goggles and helmets and other equipment
hoping their efforts would see the cargo return
but it never did
so the natives either gave up on their newfound beliefs
or spiraled into something yet stranger
on some islands a new leader emerged
claiming they knew the secrets of cargo
according to them only by following their commands to the letter would the cargo return
this was the birth of cargo cults
in time these cult leaders were found out as frauds
usually because no cargo actually turned up
to be honest I'm not sure why anyone would claim to have such knowledge
leading a cargo cult seems like a one way road to getting killed
it's not a good career move
more than five are still active
mostly on small isolated islands
on the island of Tanna some locals worship a mythical figure called John Frum
effectively their god, John Frum is said to have been an American soldier
who instructed locals to rebel against Europeans
on dark nights he was said to land his plane on
the island and hold secret meetings with the natives
he promised cargo would soon be sent for them from the US
then when world war 2 broke out
cargo and American soldiers did turn up
proving the prophecy of John Frum to be true
and so the people of Tanna came to worship not only him
but America as a whole
every Friday the cult hold rituals and sing the praises of John Frum
over time some members of the cargo cult have died off
so only around 500 members remain today
but they are incredibly devout
equating John Frum to Jesus
it's thought the myth of John Frum might have began with an
American missionary who was unusually kind
or maybe John Frum really is an all powerful god
both options are realistic
another mysterious figure is Hogen Fukunaga
in the 1980s he founded the foot reading cult
a group that could only have been a thing in Japan
basically what happened is he found himself heavily in debt
so in a desperate way to Japanese his way to freedom
he claimed to be a reincarnation of Buddha
inspired by fortune tellers who read the palms of people's hands
he started reading feet
for some reason this proved popular
but he would almost always deliver bad news
predicting personal or financial disaster
then he would claim the only way to avoid that fate was to attend a seminar
at the seminar he would coerce them into joining his cult
and accept him as their spiritual leader
through gathering a group of followers
Fukunaga was able to escape his massive debt
many cult members were wealthy and well connected
so he would send them magical objects
which according to him would cure illness
one member paid 34 thousand US dollars for a magical scroll
I am tempted to make a joke about his cult members footing the bill
but I'm just not going to do it
the cult went on for a surprising amount of time
seeing Fukunaga become a millionaire
in the 90s he was able to buy audiences with influential figures
like Bill Clinton and Gorbachev
but as Clinton was president at the time it blew up into a big scandal
this in tern drew attention to the cults criminal activity
so Fukunaga was arrested and charged with fraud
eventually being sent to prison for 12 years
few outside of Japan remember the foot reading cult
thanks to other Japanese cults at the time overshadowing it
most notably Aum Shinrikyo
not far from Japan
similar groups were operating in South Korea at the time
in 1987, 32 dead bodies were found in an old South Korean factory
among the dead was the factory owner and her 3 children
at the time of the incident she was wanted by police
having defrauded millions of dollars
it turns out she was running a fringe religious group
and using her factory as a front to steal money followers
at first police assumed it was a simple case of mass suicide
I'm not sure how any mass suicide could be considered simple
but to them it was a closed case
but in time they began to suspect something more sinister was going on
it's now thought she was operating a doomsday cult
married to a local government official
she had a good reputation in the community thanks to years of charity work
but one day she began to claim god cured her cancer
gathering a group of followers who considered her holy
' amassing hundreds of followers
she would have them take out loans and give the money directly to her
this could only go on for so long
hence why police were looking to arrest her for fraud
it seems on realizing there was no way out for her
she somehow convinced a group of die hard supporters to end their own lives
luckily most cult members had by that point given up on her
but few have ever been willing to speak publicly about what actually happened
Ervil LeBaron was infamously known as the Mormon Manson
like many Mormons he was born in Mexico
after polygamy was outlawed in the US
large communities of Mormons just moved to Mexico
some of which are alive and well
but some communities were deeply isolated and led by creeps
Ervil LeBaron was born into a community led by his father
but when the father died a dispute unfolded over who should lead the group
ultimately Ervil's brother took charge
so in anger he split off and founded his own group
then having established his own colony in California
he ordered his followers to murder his brother
when another of his brothers took over after that
Ervil repeatedly tried to have him killed also
he threatened members of his own group too
promising if they ever leave they would pay with their lives
and it was a very real threat
during his time as leader of the cult at least 25 people were killed
Ervil claimed to be a prophet of god
he preached that only blood could pay for the sins of humanity
so cult members were periodically sent out to kill innocent outsiders
hence why he is known as the Mormon Manson
he specifically trained women to kill for him
knowing it would be less expected from them
one of his wives was among the killers
being sentenced to life in prison
but don't worry he still had 12 more
anyone in the cult could at any time be ordered to kill
in 1974 Ervil was found guilty of his brother's murder
but in unclear circumstances he was soon released
and from then he would focus on killing other Mormon leaders
only in 1980 would he be sent to prison for good
having been arrested in Mexico
in prison he wrote his own bible like a lunatic
and died one year later
his rival brother died in a car crash just days after
many believe it was not a coincidence
but unlike most cults his was able to survive the loss of it's leader
this is partly because he had a succession plan
on Ervil's death his son Arturo took over
Arturo was somehow even more of a criminal than his father
basically turning the group into a criminal gang
where his father sent members out to kill
he ordered them to steal cars
the cult made millions of dollars and selling them on the black market
but this greed came at a cost
Arturo LeBaron was killed by his own followers
then when his 20 year old brother took over
the cult split into two smaller groups
the murders continued
the auto theft continued
and police were building cases
so with members either leaving
getting arrested or murdering each other
the cult just kind of collapsed