[TheOtherHobbes]

I once went to a meeting of an actual full-blown cult.

It was a very curious evening. The first thing they did was reassure everyone - slightly nervously - that they weren't a cult.

"You'll see us called a cult online, but we're not a cult. Ha ha. Definitely not a cult. Certainly not. Oh no."

This denial sounds rather similar.

[vadansky]

Reminds me of when my friend took me to a MLM get together (aka Sales Pitch)

[closetohome]

It's not a pyramid, it's an upward funnel!