In the age of social media and wellness trends, the comments section is as good as a cult compound, says linguist and cultural commentator Amanda Montell. Using Taylor Swift’s throng of devoted Swifties as her guide, she exposes three sneaky language tactics that cults use to influence us (for better or for worse), revealing why none of us are as cult-proof as we’d like to think. (Created in collaboration with @ignite; Recorded at TEDNext 2025 on November 11, 2025)
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@ajames283
April 16, 2026 at 11:17 am
“My truth” 😂
@mkhud50n
April 16, 2026 at 12:20 pm
Definitely a cult slogan.
@MadaoHasegawe
April 16, 2026 at 11:30 am
Astrophage Intro 😭📈
@mendynoma4272
April 16, 2026 at 11:38 am
Thank you for this very interesting presentation.
@MegaBaellchen
April 16, 2026 at 11:47 am
While this cult is trying to make you immune to logic and nuance, and see the world as a giant trench war, where you are either with the good guys or with the bad guys.
@abrarmullan1
April 16, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Now a days, I feel every croud is trying to become a cult. Social Media made is a lot simpler
@AnD-1999
April 16, 2026 at 12:07 pm
Meanwhile kids in the USA have to swear the pledge of allegiance before they are able to understand what that means… People in the USA hardly seem to be able to think for themselves…. They’re not thought to do so…. Hence their current government
@patoland18
April 16, 2026 at 12:12 pm
Her books are good
@mkhud50n
April 16, 2026 at 12:19 pm
Stores use cult marketing strategies. Those “membership” and “loyalty programs” are actually cults.
Btw the trend of talking about cults is cult behavior too.
@combatcritique
April 16, 2026 at 1:16 pm
You seem to be a part of some cult
@mkhud50n
April 16, 2026 at 1:19 pm
@combatcritiquethank you for proving my point. 😂
@youtubeisrunbyamonkey
April 16, 2026 at 1:29 pm
When you only know how to swing a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
@mkhud50n
April 16, 2026 at 1:35 pm
@youtubeisrunbyamonkey💯🎯
@adcashmo
April 16, 2026 at 12:20 pm
TED is a cult
@stevepretorius3329
April 16, 2026 at 3:15 pm
I was hoping for a video I could share with my family, sadly it is too shallow and doesn’t give any particular insight that is worth it. Maybe if the video was twice as long she could have done it?
@Julierue
April 16, 2026 at 4:04 pm
Thank you thank you thank you for sharing this with humanity. We all need to learn how to think for ourselves.
@Eminetics
April 16, 2026 at 7:42 pm
Yo my work literally uses all these words dialy