Do severely disabled children have psychic abilities? When laughably dubious proof is posted in /r/TheTelepathyTapes, a prolific mod who claims to have a psychic child goes berserk, takes over the sub, and bans the skeptics.
Subreddit Background
The Telepathy Tapes is a very popular podcast which claims that nonverbal autistic children have been discovered to have telepathic, psychic, and ESP-related abilities.
The host, Ky Dickens, convincingly claims to have conducted experiments that prove this beyond a shadow of a doubt. She walks listeners through these experiments in which the children stunningly produce results with 100% accuracy. Dickens also regularly reminds listeners that videos of these experiments and the raw footage itself can be found on the podcast website.
/r/TheTelepathyTapes was created a couple months after the podcast premiered by an otherwise unremarkable reddit user.
Amazement & Disbelief
/r/TheTelepathyTapes had under 50 posts by the time the podcast had concluded. Discussion was levelheaded and pretty evenly split between believers and skeptics.
How are people not incredibly excited by this ? We have proof of telepathy, real proof and crickets.
I listened to the first two episodes but kept being surprised by the lack of rigor.
Some users were discussing how to better tune their own psychic abilities...
Im trying to work out how to get better focus and send at the moment. I know i was really receptive. probably from doing while body detoxes, drinking pure water, detoxing my body and pineal gland from heavy metals.
... while others began poking holes in the entire concept.
I have serious concerns about this podcast (as someone who works in the field of autism, specifically with non-speakers) and the traction it’s gaining. First of all, the whole thing is predicated on the highly controversial and widely debunked facilitated communication method (you can look it up) which is just accepted as fact for the purposes of this story.
Red Flags On The Horizon
Eventually facts start trickling out that cast doubt the entire thing. Not only did the host intentionally misrepresent the background of the doctor she's relying on for guidance, but users discover that the evidence of the claims - the videos of disabled children performing psychic feats - were behind a $10 paywall.
The Telepathy Tapes was deliberately misleading from the very first episode, though this only becomes evident more than halfway through the series. By then, listening to it felt like being invited to a "fun cocktail party" that turns out to be a recruitment event for Amway. In this case though it’s a New Age, woo-woo, cult. The deception and manipulation are infuriating, and a colossal waste of time. Adding insult to injury is their $10 paywall on their website to view short, inconclusive, video clips that fail to substantiate any of their claims. It’s just more of the same grift.
https://old.reddit.com/r/TheTelepathyTapes/comments/1hsru4y/is_anyone_else_angry/
Many believers stumble over themselves to excuse the inconsistencies and grifting, and urge the skeptics to look deeper into psychic research for proof of the unbelievable.
A Brave Redditor Appears
As the skeptical voices grew unavoidable, one of the skeptics had enough and made a bold move:
They posted several of the videos from behind the paywall.
The reaction among the majority of the sub's users was predictably immediate and angry.
...
...
In light of publicizing the videos, it seemed that the jig was up! Would /r/TheTelepathyTapes redditors keep discussing the show like it was a possible reality, or would the creator's own evidence doom its fanbase?
The answer to that question would come less than 24 hours later.
Don't Believe Your Lying Eyes
While the observable majority of the sub was disappointed by being hoodwinked, one of the devout believers made a post lashing out at the user who leaked the videos, claiming that what they've done is illegal and that they've reported it to the podcast's website.
As you can see, this thread quickly devolved into an emotional mess. OP gets called a narc, and picks fights with everyone telling them to chill out.
What many users were unaware of, however, was that the OP of this thread is the mod of a DOZEN paranormal-themed subreddits, like /r/UFOs, /r/skinwalkerranch, /r/HighStrangeness, and r/Experiencers. Additionally, they claim to have psychic powers and a disabled psychic child. There is no arguing with this user, and there's no way they'll accept that the podcast is a sham.
The person who posted the video then makes a very astute observation
It does sound like you're gunning for a mod spot here. You could really save this space from any type of critical thought. It would be the perfect way to shut down any discussion that you don't personally like, and then you can rebrand that as 'civility'. What a hero. lol
The Hostile Takeover
Several hours following the meltdown, a new mod was crowned... and you'll never guess who it was, lol.
(Edit: it appears they tried to seize control of the sub several hours after the videos were posted, presumably because the sole mod isn't on reddit 24/7 to respond to their messages)
Reaction was tepid, to say the least.
You’re part of the problem.
Suddenly many of the skeptical comments and threads that were posted in the days prior were wiped clean, and those skeptical voices were banned. Not only did they takeover the sub, but they installed some of their fellow paranormal mods as well.
Additionally, they released a set of rules that skeptics had to follow to take part in the conversation - most notable of which is NO FAKE SKEPTICS!
In the week since the hostile takeover, postings have remained consistent, but the conversation has grown predictably unhinged. While skeptics seem completely unwilling to jump through the unnecessary hoops demanded by the new mods, faithful believers are posting thoughtful examinations like "telepathy is real", and mods are telling people their critical observations are "absolute horse shit."
Lessons Learned
Being a grifter is extremely profitable and you'll inevitably find a group of rubes who'll defend your grift with every fiber of their being.
UPDATE
It seems the mods have caught wind of my post, and they’re doubling down on the persecution narrative while using it as an impetus to further restrict discussion.