Editing NXIVM (section)

=== 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}}