(Submitters note: Joseph Mercola is runs a supplement company and was one of the biggest sources of covid denialism/anti-vax misinformation online).

The difference between a cult and a con is often difficult to discern, but experts on cult indoctrination and psychic fraud say developments surrounding osteopathic physician Joseph Mercola’s actions at his supplement company fit patterns seen in both, largely affirming the fears of people close to the controversial doctor that he is being manipulated by a purported psychic.

In hundreds of hours of video and transcripts to which Natural Products Insider was given access, Dr. Mercola consulted with a psychic who goes by the name Kai Clay but appears to have been previously known as Christopher Johnson. Clay claimed to channel an “ancient and wise high-vibration entity from the causal plane.”

Mercola began meeting with Clay — who spoke as the entity “Bahlon” — in late 2023, and announced that he was going to produce a book from Bahlon’s teachings that would change the world, bringing joy to “billions” of people. Mercola’s sister, Janet Selvig, said she confronted the doctor about his relationship with Clay and he reacted angrily, at one point declaring himself “the new Jesus.” A week later, Selvig was fired from her job editing content for the brand, along with CEO Steve Rye and Chief Business Officer Ryan Boland. An email appearing to come from Mercola cited the executives’ Catholic beliefs as reasons for firing them.

He described the Catholic church as “the entity behind the global cabal,” adding that the church “created all the pain that most people experience” before declaring that “the current leadership,” referring to Selvig, Rye and Boland, “has strong commitments to the Catholic Church.”