As far as I can tell, Urbit seems to be the first true cyberspace cult. If Scientology was based in the trappings 1940s and 50s pulp sci-fi, Urbit is based in

As far as I can tell, Urbit seems to be the first true cyberspace cult. If Scientology was based in the trappings 1940s and 50s pulp sci-fi, Urbit is based in 21st century web culture, crypto/blockchain/libertarianism with an (un)healthy dose of feudalism and fascism thrown in. All the signs of a cult are there, including arcane terminology and symbolism known only to an elite few, re-definition of commonly accepted terms (false==true etc), and a way to make the founders fabulously wealthy at the expense of newer initiates. While some of the ideas are interesting, and empowering people to take back their digital lives is a noble goal, swapping digital serfdom from a company like Facebook to the bunch of lunatics behind Urbit doesn’t sound like a good trade. Strip away the mysticism and deliberately obscurantist language, and I’m not sure there will be much remaining.