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List of people claimed to be Jesus

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This is a partial list of notable people[a] who have been claimed, either by themselves or by their followers, to be the reincarnation or incarnation of Jesus, or the Second Coming of Christ.

17th century

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Portrait of the Welsh prophet, Rhys 'Arise' Evans.
  • Rhys Evans, (1607 – c.1660) who later renamed himself 'Arise Evans' was a Welsh prophet who travelled to London to spread his premonitions. He was arrested and imprisoned around 1650 at Newgate Prison for impersonating Christ.[1][2]

18th century

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19th century

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
  • John Nichols Thom (1799–1838), a Cornish merchant and politician who claimed to be the "saviour of the world" and the reincarnation of Jesus Christ in 1834. He was killed during a confrontation with government soldiers at the Battle of Bossenden Wood on 31 May 1838 near Hernhill, Kent.[5]
  • William Price (1800–1893), a Welsh Neo-Druid, who claimed that two of his sons were Jesus.
  • Arnold Potter (1804–1872), Schismatic Latter Day Saint leader; he claimed the spirit of Jesus Christ entered into his body and he became "Potter Christ" Son of the living God. He died in an attempt to "ascend into heaven" by jumping off a cliff. His body was later retrieved and buried by his followers.[6]
  • Bahá'u'lláh (1817–1892), born Shiite, adopted Bábism later in 1844;[7] he claimed to be the prophesied fulfillment and Promised One of major religions including Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. He founded the Baháʼí Faith in 1863.[8] The Baháʼís believe that the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Second Coming of Jesus, as well as the prophecies of the 5th Buddha Maitreya and many other religious prophecies, were begun by the Báb in 1844 and then by Bahá'u'lláh. They commonly compare the fulfillment of Christian prophecies to Jesus' fulfillment of Jewish prophecies, where in both cases people were expecting the literal fulfillment of apocalyptic statements.[9]
  • William W. Davies (1833–1906), leader of a Latter Day Saint schismatic group called the Kingdom of Heaven located in Walla Walla, Washington from 1867 to 1881. He taught his followers that he was the archangel Michael, who had previously lived as the biblical Adam, Abraham, and David. When his son Arthur was born on 11 February 1868, Davies declared that the infant was the reincarnated Jesus Christ.[10][11] When Davies's second son, David, was born in 1869, he was declared to be God the Father.[10]
  • Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India (1835–1908), claimed to be the awaited Mahdi as well as the Second Coming and likeness of Jesus, the promised Messiah at the end of time. He claimed to be Jesus in the metaphorical sense; in character. He founded the Ahmadiyya Movement in 1889, envisioning it to be the rejuvenation of Islam, and claimed to be commissioned by God for the reformation of humankind.
  • Cyrus Teed (1839–1908), American physician, claimed to be the incarnation of Jesus Christ and to have obtained knowledge regarding the Hollow Earth theory, presenting a cosmological model having the Earth as an inverted sphere and the remaining universe located within it.[12]
  • Carl Browne (1849–1914), American activist and leader of the Coxey's Army protest movement, claimed to be the partial reincarnation of Jesus.[13]

20th century

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  • 'Abd Allahi al-Sihayni (executed 1921). Sudanese Masalit leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of Christ and united Masalits, Furs, Arabs and Fulanis against the British occupation in Darfur in September 1921. He was responsible for the deaths of 41 British, for which he was executed.[14]
  • John Hugh Smyth-Pigott (1852–1927). Around 1890 Smyth-Pigott started leading meetings of the Agapemonite community and recruited 50 young female followers to supplement its aging population. He took Ruth Anne Preece as his second wife and she had three children named Glory, Power and Hallelujah.[15] The house which may have belonged to Smyth-Pigott in St John's Wood was visited by John Betjeman in his film Metro-Land. It is built in the neo-gothic style. It is currently the home of the television presenter Vanessa Feltz and was previously the home of Charles Saatchi.[16] Smyth-Pigott died in 1927 and the sect gradually declined until the last member, sister Ruth, died in 1956.[17] Her funeral in 1956 was the only time when outsiders were admitted to the chapel.[18]
  • Manuel Herrick (1876–1952). American politician who saw himself as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, thus gaining the nickname "Okie Jesus Congressman."
Haile Selassie I
Krishna Venta
  • Krishna Venta (1911–1958), born Francis Herman Pencovic in San Francisco, founded the WKFL (Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith and Love) Fountain of the World cult in Simi Valley, California in the late 1940s. In 1948 he stated that he was Christ, the new messiah and claimed to have led a convoy of rocket ships to Earth from the extinct planet Neophrates. He died on 10 December 1958, after being suicide-bombed by two disgruntled former followers who accused Venta of mishandling cult funds and having been intimate with their wives.
  • Jesu Oyingbo (1915–1988), a Nigerian man who proclaimed himself to be Jesus Christ returned.[22][23]
  • Ahn Sahng-hong (1918–1985), a South Korean who founded the World Mission Society Church of God in 1964, who recognize him as the Second Coming of Jesus. The World Mission Society Church of God teach that Zahng Gil-jah is "God the Mother", who they explain is referred to in the Bible as the New Jerusalem Mother (Galatians 4:26), and that Ahn Sahng-Hong is God the Father.[24]
Sun Myung Moon

21st century

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Alan John Miller and Mary Luck (Divine Truth)
Delores Kane
  • Apollo Quiboloy (b. 1950) is the founder and leader of a Philippines-based Restorationist church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. He has made claims that he is the "Appointed Son of God".[68]
  • Mehmet Ali Ağca (b. 1959), Turkish assassin who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981. Said in 2010, "I will meet you in the next three days. In the name of God Almighty, I proclaim the end of the world in this century. All the world will be destroyed, every human being will die. I am not God, I am not son of God, I am Christ eternal."[69]
  • Alan John Miller (b. 1962), more commonly known as A.J. Miller, a former Jehovah's Witness Elder and current leader of the Australia-based Divine Truth movement.[70] Miller claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated with others in the 20th century to spread messages that he calls the "Divine Truth". He delivers these messages in seminars and various forms of media along with his current partner Mary Suzanne Luck, who identifies herself as the returned Mary Magdalene.[71]
  • Delores Kane (b. 1965) is a former MI5 officer and whistleblower who, in the summer of 2007, proclaimed herself to be the Messiah. She has released a series of videos on YouTube claiming to be Jesus, although she has not built up any noticeable following since her claims.[72][73]
  • Maurice Clemmons (1972–2009), an American felon responsible for the 2009 murder of four police officers in Washington state, referred to himself in May 2009 as Jesus.[74]
  • Amy Carlson (1975–2021). Leader of the religious group Love Has Won, Carlson said she was a deity known as Mother God. She said she was Mother Earth, Gaia,[75] Cleopatra, Jesus, Joan of Arc,[76] Harriet Tubman,[77] and Marilyn Monroe; she claimed to have full memory of her lives, including being hanged on the cross as Jesus.[76]
  • Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (b. 1990). In November 2011, he fired nine shots with a Romanian Cugir SA semi-automatic rifle at the White House in Washington D.C., believing himself to be Jesus Christ sent to kill U.S. President Barack Obama, whom he believed to be the antichrist.[78][79]
  • Todd Kincannon (b. 1981), former head of the South Carolina Republican Party, was arrested in 2018 for killing and mutilating his mother's dog. He claimed to police he was the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and that God had told him to do it, because “every 1,000 years there needs to be a sacrifice and blood must be spilt."[80]
  • Gabbie Hanna (b. 1991), an American Internet personality and singer-songwriter, went on a multi-post rant on TikTok in August 2022 claiming to be the Second Coming of Jesus.[81]
  • Ezra Miller (b. 1992), an American actor who, in June 2022, allegedly referred to themselves as Jesus, the Devil, and a Messiah to Native Americans.[82] Miller later claimed to be seeking treatment for "complex mental health issues".[83]
  • Jey Rence Quilario (b. 2000), also known as Senior Agila and the president of the Socorro Bayanihan Services. Ex-members claimed that Quilario allegedly believed himself to be God, the reincarnation of the Santo Niño and the Messiah.[84]
  • Jeff Divine aka Jeff Ayan, co-founder of Twin Flames Universe, has claimed that historical depictions of Jesus actually depict himself as "the second coming".[85]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Notability is established with a Wikipedia article, either as a biographical article about the person who claimed to be Jesus, or an article about their followers

References

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  1. ^ "EVANS, ARISE (sic for A-Rice = Ap Rice, Ap Rhys) (fl. 1607–1660), prognosticator". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
  2. ^ https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1851-0308-253 – (British museum #1851,0308.253)
  3. ^ Селиванов, Кондратий in: Большая биографическая энциклопедия. Andrei Sinyavsky, IVAN the FOOL. Russian Folk Belief, A Cultural History (trans. 2007).
  4. ^ "Her followers began to call her "Mother" Ann because they believed her to be the female component of Christ's spirit and that she represented the second appearance of Christ on earth." [1]
  5. ^ J. Lowerson, ed. Charlesworth, An Atlas of Rural protests in Britain, 1548–1900 (1983), pp. 139–141: "The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was designed specifically to cope with the severe problems of rural England and to prevent... a repetition of the 1830s incidents in the epicentres of Kent... There, complex soil patterns, small-scale farming and low investment rates combined with a rapid population surge to produce... dependence on permanent relief of 25% of population... groups of labourers (1835) ...besieged local magistrates in the workhouse... 37 labourers were imprisoned for... up to two years."
  6. ^ James Barnes: Unveiling of the Middleman: The Truth About Prophecy, AuthorHouse, 2011, pp. 63–64
  7. ^ Balyuzi, H.M. (2000). Baháʼu'lláh: King of Glory. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. pp. 35–37. ISBN 0-85398-328-3.
  8. ^ Buck, Christopher (2004). "The eschatology of Globalization: The multiple-messiahship of Bahā'u'llāh revisited". In Sharon, Moshe (ed.). Studies in Modern Religions, Religious Movements and the Bābī-Bahā'ī Faiths. Boston: Brill. pp. 143–178. ISBN 90-04-13904-4.
  9. ^ Lambden, Stephen (1999). "Catastrophe, Armageddon and Millennium: some aspects of the Bábí-Baháʼí exegesis of apocalyptic symbolism". Baháʼí Studies Review (9). Retrieved November 21, 2009 – via Bahá'í Library Online.
  10. ^ a b Robert S. Fogarty (2003). All Things New: American Communes and Utopian Movements, 1860–1914 (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books) ISBN 0-7391-0520-5 pp. 50–51.
  11. ^ J. Gordon Melton (1996, 5th ed.). Encyclopedia of American Religions (Detroit, Mich.: Gale) ISBN 0-8103-7714-4 p. 565.
  12. ^ Simon, Matt (July 2, 2014). "Fantastically Wrong: The Legendary Scientist Who Swore Our Planet Is Hollow". WIRED. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  13. ^ McMurry, Donald L. (1929). Coxey's Army: A Study in Industrial Unrest, 1893–1898. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. p. 37.
  14. ^ Daly, M. W. (2007). Darfur's Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide. p. 119.
  15. ^ Evans, Roger (2006). Blame it on the vicar. Halsgrove. p. 29. ISBN 9781841145686.
  16. ^ "Vanessa Feltz's House History". Where do you think you live. BBC. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  17. ^ Evans 2006, p. 31.
  18. ^ Byford, Enid (1987). Somerset Curiosities. Dovecote Press. p. 22. ISBN 0946159483.
  19. ^ "Rastafari Movement". Religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu. September 7, 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  20. ^ Tumminia, Diana G. When Prophecy Never Fails: Myth and Reality in a Flying-Saucer Group. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, 240 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-517675-9
  21. ^ Bishop, Greg, et al. (2006). Weird California. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4027-3384-0
  22. ^ Oyibode, Austin (May 25, 2017). "How a self-acclaimed Jesus acquired wives, raised his empire and died in Lagos in 1988". www.legit.ng. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "Meet Five Nigerians Who Have Claimed To Be God". The Native. April 14, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  24. ^ Norris, Jimmy (January 25, 2009). "Feeling the love". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  25. ^ Moon At Twilight: Amid scandal, the Unification Church has a strange new mission, Peter Maass New Yorker Magazine, September 14, 1998. "Moon sees the essence of his own mission as completing the one given to Jesus—establishing a "true family" untouched by Satan while teaching all people to lead a God-centered life under his spiritual leadership."..."Although Moon often predicts in his sermons that a breakthrough is near, Moffitt realizes that Moon may not come to be seen as the messiah in his lifetime."
  26. ^ Unifying or Dividing? Sun Myung Moon and the Origins of the Unification Church, by George D. Chryssides, University of Wolverhampton, UK. A paper presented at the CESNUR 2003 Conference, Vilnius, Lithuania.
  27. ^ Galanter, Marc (1999). Cults: Faith, Healing, and Coercion. Oxford University Press; 2nd edition. ISBN 978-0-19-512370-8. (meta-citation)
  28. ^ Reiterman, Tim, and John Jacobs. Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People. Dutton, 1982. ISBN 978-0-525-24136-2. pp. 476–524.
  29. ^ I, Jesus—Son of God—acknowledge on this date of September 25/26, 1995: 1. I am about to return to my Father's Kingdom. 1A. This "return" requires that I prepare to lay down my borrowed human body in order to take up, or reenter, my body (biological) belonging to the Kingdom of God (as I did appx. 2000 years ago when I laid down the body that was about 33 years old in order to reenter my body belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven). Marshall Applewhite (1995). UNDERCOVER JESUS SURFACES. alt.consciousness.mysticism. Retrieved August 15, 2005.
  30. ^ "One year later Heaven's Gate suicides leave a faint trail". CNN.
  31. ^ "Charles Manson: His Death and the Biblical Christian Response". Cross Encounters Ministries. November 21, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  32. ^ "He identified himself as the 'grand master of the celestial lodge, the architect of the universe'"Crimelibrary Archived April 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ Miami Herald (October 15, 2001). "the old message of self-esteem has been crowded out by one that elevates their leader to Grand Master of All, the God of the Universe, the Grand Potentate, the Everlasting Father and the persecuted Messiah."
  34. ^ Douglas Martin (May 9, 2007). "Yahweh ben Yahweh, Leader of Separatist Sect, Dies at 71". New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  35. ^ "Notes and Queries: Whatever happened to Laszlo Toth, the man who smashed Michelangelo's Pieta in 1972?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 8, 2006.
  36. ^ Evers, Chia (2006). "Laszlo Toth, 'Jesus Christ,' Attacks the Pieta (May 21, 1972)". Today in Odd History. News of the Odd. Archived from the original on May 16, 2006. Retrieved June 8, 2006.
  37. ^ "说说"门徒会"的"救赎"" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  38. ^ Inside a Cult Archived May 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine documentary info published by the National Geographic Channel.
  39. ^ "Sect Leader Who Allegedly Sought Virgins Found Guilty on Sex Charge". AP. Taos, NM: Fox News. December 15, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  40. ^ "Escape from Islam" Archived May 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Weekend Standard, April 23–24, 2005
  41. ^ "After the Upper House Election, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should hand the seat of the Prime Minister to Jesus Matayoshi, the one true God."Cgunson Archived November 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  42. ^ "After the Upper House Election, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should hand the seat of the Prime Minister to Jesus Matayoshi, the one true God."::: cgunson.com ::: MATAYOSHI Archived November 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  43. ^ Levine, June (1974). "The Amazing Irish Guru". Irish Independent.
  44. ^ Kim Bielenberg (July 7, 2012). "Tony Quinn: his young lover Eve, his massive fortune and the prayers for cash". Independent.ie. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  45. ^ Eugene Masterson (January 11, 2010). "Tony Sued for 'Sex Assault'". sundayworld.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  46. ^ 20/20. March 2, 2001. TV3 (Ireland).
  47. ^ Cullen, Paul (July 18, 2012). "Quinn payout of $23m on oil firm shares in doubt". Irish Times. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  48. ^ SM LIFE VENTURES LLC v Susan Morrice, Tony Quinn, International Natural Energy LLC & Belize Natural Energy LLC (Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court 18 July 2012) ("I will grant a declaration that the 2007 Operating Agreement is invalid and that Mr Quinn was never validly appointed to the board of INE. I will also declare that Ms McCaffrey has never been validly suspended from the INE board."), Text.
  49. ^ Eugene Masterson (January 11, 2010). "Tony Is Sued for 'Sex Assault'". sundayworld.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  50. ^ Nicola Tallant (September 20, 2009). "Minder Bender, 'Messiah' Quinn's ring of steel as he tries to save crumbing reputation at stormy meeting". Sunday World. pp. 10, 11.
  51. ^ Ray Managh; Dearbhail McDonald (January 9, 2010). "Lifestyle guru Quinn sued for alleged sex assault and battery". Irish Independent. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  52. ^ Ray Managh (January 9, 2010). "Fitness expert Quinn accused of sex assault - Herald.ie". herald.ie. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  53. ^ "Foot-reader fined for fraud", BBC 25 December 2000
  54. ^ "The Man Who Claims To Be Jesus". CBS 4. September 12, 2006. Archived from the original on February 17, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
  55. ^ "Summary of INRI CRISTO's life". Archived from the original on June 6, 2008.
  56. ^ "Killer Who Said He Was Jesus Is Executed". CBS News. June 21, 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  57. ^ Killer Who Said He Was Jesus Is Executed. CBS News (2000-06-21). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
  58. ^ "The day David Icke told Terry Wogan "I'm the son of God"". The Daily Telegraph. January 9, 2023. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022.
  59. ^ "Kiliselerde bulunan resmim düzeltilmeli". www.hurriyet.com.tr. November 25, 2000.
  60. ^ "S A B A H O N L I N E 23.11.2000". arsiv.sabah.com.tr.
  61. ^ "dedim dedim inanmadınız". June 18, 2019 – via www.youtube.com.
  62. ^ a b Lifton, Robert Jay, Destroying the World to Save It: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism. New York: Macmillan (2000).
  63. ^ Arnold, J. Phillip (February 1, 2023). "Did David Koresh Plagiarize Cyrus R. Teed?". Nova Religio. 26 (3): 101–115. doi:10.1525/nr.2023.26.3.101. ISSN 1092-6690.
  64. ^ Anastasia Daugule, "White Brotherhood – 15 years later". "Glavnoe" Kharkiv Net Review, a1404
  65. ^ "Tiberkul Religious Settlement – Home of Vissarion, the "Jesus of Siberia."". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  66. ^ Rocco Castoro (December 19, 2011). "The Mysteries of the Teacher". Vice.
  67. ^ McCoy, Terrence (October 13, 2014). "The murderous Chinese cult that thinks Jesus has returned — as a Chinese woman". The Washington Post.
  68. ^ "Kingdom of Jesus Christ FAQ". Archived from the original on February 24, 2011.
  69. ^ Allen, John L. (2016) [2013]. The Global War on Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution. New York, NY: Random House LLC. p. 211. ISBN 9780770437374.
  70. ^ http://www.divinetruth.com/ Divine Truth; God's Way Of Love website. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  71. ^ "Australia's chilling cult transcript - Sunday Night - Channel 7 - Yahoo!7 TV - Yahoo!7 TV". Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012. Sunday Night, 'Inside Australia's chilling new cult'. Sunday Night, Channel Seven. September 18, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  72. ^ "David Shayler Mystic on C4 News 10 Aug 2007". YouTube. August 10, 2007. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  73. ^ "Meet Delores, the former now living as a woman in a Surrey commune | News". Thisislondon.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 20, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  74. ^ Perry, Nick; O'Hagan, Maureen; Armstrong, Ken (December 1, 2009). "Four days in May set stage for Sunday's tragedy". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  75. ^ Elliott, Josh K. (May 5, 2021). "Cult leader's mummified body found wrapped in Xmas lights at Colorado home". Global News. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  76. ^ a b Peiser, Jaclyn (May 5, 2021). "She told followers she was 'Mother God.' Her mummified body was found wrapped in Christmas lights". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  77. ^ Travers, Ben; Thompson, Anne (December 12, 2023). "The Best Documentaries and Docuseries of 2023". IndieWire. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  78. ^ "White House shooting suspect Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez says he's Jesus". CBS/KBOI/AP. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  79. ^ "Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez Thought He Was Jesus, Obama Was Antichrist". Huffington Post. November 18, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  80. ^ "Ex-leader of state's GOP says he killed dog on God's command". NBC News. August 3, 2018.
  81. ^ "TikTokers call out those using Gabbie Hanna TikTok sounds". The Daily Dot. September 14, 2022.
  82. ^ Miller, Julie (September 18, 2022). "Ezra Miller's "Messiah" Delusions: Inside The Flash Star's Dark Spiral". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  83. ^ Brent Lang, J. Kim Murphy; Lang, Brent; Murphy, J. Kim (August 16, 2022). "'The Flash' Star Ezra Miller Seeking Treatment for 'Complex Mental Health Issues' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  84. ^ "Surigao Del Norte NGO accused of being a religious cult forcing minors into marriage and raping them, taking members' pension". Philstar Life. September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  85. ^ "How 'Twin Flames Universe' YouTubers Monetized Heartbreak and Trauma". November 9, 2023.