Editing NXIVM (section)

== Personality cult of Keith Raniere ==
NXIVM has been described as a [[cult]] and Raniere a cult leader by anti-cult activists such as [[Rick Alan Ross]] and [[Steven Hassan]], as well as the billionaire businessman [[Edgar Bronfman Sr.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Cult Expert Tells Us Why the NXIVM Story Is Far from Over |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-cult-expert-tells-us-why-the-nxivm-story-is-far-from-over/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=Vice.com |date=May 23, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name= "Forbes20060724"/><ref name="Refinery29">{{Cite web |title="At This Point We Are In Despair": One Woman's Quest To Bring Her Brother Home From NXIVM|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/06/201748/nxivm-cult-members-brother-executive-success-program|date=June 30, 2018 |work=Refinery29|first=AMELIA|last=HARNISH}}</ref> [[Stephen A. Kent]], a sociologist who studies [[new religious movement]]s, in an article comparing NXIVM to Scientology, noted NXIVM operated mainly as a business and never incorporated as a religious organization.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=IJCAM - Introduction - Comparative Reflections on Scientology and NXIVM |url=https://www.ijcam.org/articles/introduction-comparative-reflections-on-scientology-and-nxivm |access-date=June 16, 2022 |journal=International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation |date=2021 |volume=2 |language=en-US |doi=10.54208/0002/002|s2cid=246927361 |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Hagiographical claims ===
Over the decades, NXIVM emphasized Raniere's specialness through [[hagiography]]. A complaint from a 2020 lawsuit by former members of NXIVM mentioned several fantastical claims made about Raniere in NXIVM marketing materials,<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Sarah Edmondson|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Complaint|doc-number=1|date=January 28, 2020|pacer-number=444408|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2020|case-type=cv|case-sequence=00485|access-date=June 16, 2022}}</ref> including claims that Raniere spoke in complete sentences as a one-year-old, mastered college-level mathematics in grade school, and was an elite athlete who won judo and track tournaments.

Raniere frequently cited having three degrees from [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]. However, he graduated with a 2.26 GPA, having failed or barely passed many of the upper-level math and science classes he bragged about.<ref name= "Detention Memo">{{cite web |date=March 26, 2018 |title=United States v. Keith Raniere - Detention Memo|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Raniere-Detention-Memo.pdf|work=United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Once Idolized, Guru of Nxivm 'Sex Cult' to Stand Trial Alone (Published 2019) | website=[[The New York Times]] | date=May 2019 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/nyregion/nxivm-keith-raniere-trial.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501114823/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/nyregion/nxivm-keith-raniere-trial.html | archive-date=May 1, 2019 }}</ref>

Every August, NXIVM members would gather in [[Silver Bay, New York]], to celebrate Raniere's birthday. Raniere's annual birthday gathering was known as "Vanguard Week", which began as a single day and eventually expanded to 11 days. The event included "tribute ceremonies" to Raniere by NXIVM members.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gavin |first1=By Robert |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-turned-Lake-George-resort-into-annual-13836853.php |title=NXIVM turned Lake George resort into annual Raniere birthday jamboree |date=May 10, 2019 |website=timesunion.com |access-date=June 20, 2019}}</ref>

According to former high-ranking members of NXIVM, Raniere's word was final within NXIVM, and nothing of import happened within NXIVM without Raniere's approval. NXIVM students were taught that Raniere was the smartest and most ethical man in the world.<ref name= "Detention Memo"/><ref>{{cite web | title=Once Idolized, Guru of Nxivm 'Sex Cult' to Stand Trial Alone (Published 2019) | website=[[The New York Times]] | date=May 2019 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/nyregion/nxivm-keith-raniere-trial.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501114823/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/nyregion/nxivm-keith-raniere-trial.html | archive-date=May 1, 2019 }}</ref>

=== Claims of Raniere's superior intellect and sexual powers ===
Well before co-founding NXIVM, [[Keith Raniere]] made fantastical claims about his intelligence. In June 1988, the ''Times Union'' profiled Raniere, reporting on his membership in the Mega Society after he achieved a high score on founder [[Ronald K. Hoeflin]]'s MEGA test, an unsupervised, 48-question test published in the April 1985 issue of ''[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]'' magazine.<ref>Morris, Scot (April 1985). "The one-in-a-million I.Q. test". ''[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]'', pp 128–132.</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=July 2, 2017 |title=Blast from the past: Complete text from 1988 Times Union article about Raniere – and his take-home IQ test |url=https://frankreport.com/2017/07/02/blast-from-the-past-complete-text-from-1988-tu-article-about-raniere-take-home-iq-test/ |website=Frank Report}}</ref> Although the MEGA test has been widely criticized as not having been properly validated, the 1989 edition of the ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of World Records]]'' (the last to include a category for highest IQ<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Robert |title=The 18 Smartest People In The World |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-smartest-people-in-the-world-2011-3 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |website=Business Insider}}</ref>) described the Hoeflin Research Group as "the most exclusive ultrahigh IQ society", and the 1989 Australian edition identified Raniere, [[Marilyn vos Savant]], and Eric Hart as the highest-scoring members of the group.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McWhirter |first1=Norris |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofre00dona |title=The Guinness book of records : 1989 |last2=McFarlan |first2=Donald |date=1988 |publisher=Enfield, Middlesex : Guinness Pub. |isbn=978-0851128788 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofre00dona/page/16 16] |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Roger D. Carlson |title=Test Critique: The Mega Test |publisher=PRO-ED |year=1991 |isbn=0890792542 |editor=Daniel J. Keyser |edition=Volume VIII |pages=431–435 |editor2=Richard C. Sweetland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Castles |first=Elaine E. |url=http://www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?id=2147510780 |title=Inventing Intelligence |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2012 |isbn=978-1440803383 |page=22 |quote=And what is that makes Marilyn vos Savant so uniquely qualified to answer such questions? There is only one reason: she is listed in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as having the highest IQ ever recorded. Never mind that this record is based on a nonstandardized test put out by an obscure group known as Mega, supposedly the world's most selective organization of geniuses. Ignore the fact that test scores at the extreme ends of any distribution are notoriously unreliable. |access-date=August 31, 2013 |archive-date=September 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926024412/http://www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?id=2147510780 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="FR180713">{{cite web |last=Parlato |first=Frank |date=July 13, 2018 |title=Univision's timeline of Keith Raniere's life |url=https://frankreport.com/2018/07/13/univisions-timeline-of-keith-ranieres-life/ |website=FrankReport.com}}</ref>

The 2003 ''[[Forbes]]'' exposé of NXIVM and Raniere showed that Raniere continued to make the claim of being the world's most intelligent man, with the addition of being "the most ethical."<ref name="Forbes20031013" /> By the time of a 2012 ''Times Union'' article, these claims had extended to Raniere convincing some in NXIVM that "his intellectual energy sets off radar detectors."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Odato |first1=James M. |last2=Gish |first2=Jennifer |date=February 11, 2012 |title=Secrets of NXIVM |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Secrets-of-NXIVM-2880885.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214211129/http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Secrets-of-NXIVM-2880885.php |archive-date=February 14, 2012 |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=Times Union}}</ref>

At Raniere's trial, testimony revealed that Raniere had convinced several girls and women that sex with him could heal their purported "disintegrations," and that his [[semen]] had supernatural qualities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NXIVM: Keith Raniere said swallowing his semen made women see blue lights {{!}} The Underground Bunker |url=https://tonyortega.org/2019/05/24/nxivm-keith-raniere-said-swallowing-his-semen-made-women-see-blue-lights/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=tonyortega.org |language=en-US}}</ref> Raniere instructed one sexual partner to seek out a [[virginity|virgin]] because he needed a "pure vessel" for reasons "energy-related and DNA-wise."<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Transcript of Trial|doc-number=779|date=2019-07-26|pacer-number=416187|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=2022-12-11}}</ref>{{better|date=November 2025}}