News agencies nowadays are notorious for publishing highly sensationalized, unverified articles, and outright fake news. Responsible journalism doesn’t seem to be in their vocabulary. These journalists do not fact check, but simply write false tempting headlines that will attract the highest number of readers.
For those who are unaware of fake news, I will describe it briefly here. This is where somebody fabricates a story and because the headline is shocking, the topic is interesting, or it is well-written regardless of false contents, many read, share and re-share it among people, and the story spreads along like wildfire as if it were the truth.
“Honestly, people are definitely dumber. They just keep passing stuff around. Nobody fact-checks anything anymore — I mean, that’s how Trump got elected. He just said whatever he wanted, and people believed everything. And when the things he said turned out not to be true, people didn’t care because they’d already accepted it. It’s real scary. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
This is what a fake news writer from ABC News stated himself. Yes, scary indeed.
ABC News and NZ Herald News have rightly earned themselves the deserving name of “trash news” in my mind. They use so-called “experts” with unreliable information to write and support some of their stories.
Peter Daley: Self Proclaimed, Phoney Cult Expert
One example of a phoney cult expert is Peter Daley. This man opposes certain religious groups as a hobby. Yet he elevates himself as a cult expert just because he follows and bullies certain unconventional, minority religious groups. “Cyber-Bully” might be a better word for him, as he is obsessed with posting negative comments and slandering them in public. Yet he continues to accept interviews from ABC News and NZ Herald News as if he had any credible professional knowledge to impart.
As a reminder, Peter Daley is a professor in an unrelated field. He has not received the least bit of education on cults or religious studies. Just because you play piano as a hobby, do you call yourself a musical professional? No, that is a title that only those who are actually practicing music as a profession should use.
Peter Daley’s Anti-cult Tactics Threaten Religious Freedom
Peter Daley sells himself as a member of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). However, there are many critics of this association, including renowned sociologists of religion, Douglas Cowan and David Bromley. In their 2009 book, Cults and New Religions: A Brief History, these sociologists describe the ICSA as a “secular anti-cult” organization.
These experts explain that ICSA’s list of criteria for being a “cult” is so broad that even mainstream organizations like Evangelical Protestants, the Roman Catholic Church, Buddhism, and Hinduism would fall within the criteria of cult.
Furthermore, they highlight that ICSA provides no indication of how many of their criteria are necessary for a group to be considered a “cult.” ICSA fails to clearly define how much of certain practices or behaviors are considered “excessive.” They hold no objective evidence that any of the practices listed are innately harmful.
Furthermore, Bromley questions the tactics of anti-cultists that threaten religious freedom.
False Claims About Providence and Jeong Myeong Seok’s Trial
One of the religious groups Peter Daley speaks most negatively about is Providence, also known as Christian Gospel Mission. The leader of that group is Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok. The judge sentenced him to 10 years of prison for alleged sexual assault.
However, after a close look at the context surrounding his verdict, it is apparent that he is not guilty. Just because someone penalizes you for something doesn’t make you guilty. The judges delivered the verdict without proper trial by jury, as per the Korean judicial system.
There was no physical evidence, and there was dense negative press and social pressure that skewed the judges’ verdict. In fact, not only was there no evidence for sexual assault, there was even evidence against the charges. Health officials examined two of the women immediately after they reported to the police, but found them both exhibiting intact hymens and no signs of sexual abuse. There were five discrepant verbal testimonies, and one female (Ms. Jang) recanted her testimony in court.
Of note, Ms. Jang testified in court that she and another member fabricated their testimonies. Despite the warning from the judge that she would be penalized for committing perjury, she stood firm with her decision to tell the truth. (https://providencetrial.com/christians-on-trial-jeong-myeong-seok/)
Rape Charges – All a Scheme
Furthermore, reliable media has revealed the instigator behind the rape charges to be Mr. Kim, a previous member of Providence who tried to extort money from Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok by threatening to defame him. Mr. Kim’s letters to Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok where he demands money for settlement can be found here. Common sense dictates that if a man was genuinely standing up for the rights of true rape victims, he would not urge a criminal to settle with money. It is obvious he was demanding money for personal gain. Of note, the same man Mr. Kim had also sent apology letters to Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok for having defamed him.
Even many media companies have written apology letters to retract unverified and defamatory statements about Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok and Providence. Unfortunately, by the time they all pulled their negative reports, the judges had already sentenced Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok to jail and the adverse effects on the public regarding the entire ordeal could not be reversed. The legal court orders showing the false media reports and the dirty-handed alterations can all be found here.
Peter Daley’s Biased Sources and Lack of Research
Peter Daley has never stepped foot inside a Providence Church, studied its sermons, been to any services, or even sat down with any Providence member to understand the true teachings of Providence.
All of what he writes and reports are from hearsay media sources (the aforementioned sources that later offered apology statements), or from indirect accounts from “former providence members” that have ulterior motives, such as Mr. Kim.
He claims that Providence members victimized his roommate while he was teaching in Korea. Yet there are numerous testimonies of current members who really love Providence and describe how Providence saved their lives in times of misery or depression. These members are from all over the world.
So would Peter Daley’s words be stronger than theirs? Should his one-sided testimony represent the all-telling truth? Should we consider the testimonies of former members valid and the testimonies of current members as invalid?
Peter Daley Fabricates Stories About Providence and Jeong Myeong Seok
The closest Peter Daley has come to being in Providence is stepping foot in Wolmyeongdong, a Natural Temple that Pastor Jeong Myeong Seong had built for the purpose of allowing the people of God to gather, pray, and give glory to the Trinity.
Peter Daley purposely attended Wolmyeongdong one year with the malicious intent of fabricating lies about this group. He went as far as shooting a video of himself flailing his arms in the dark, pretending Providence members had captured him.
Read about Peter Daley’s immature attempts to falsify stories about Providence here.
Peter Daley Resorts to Using Photoshop to Defame Jeong Myeong Seok
Peter Daley must have been desperate. He resorted to using Photoshop (quite poorly) to portray Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok in degrading poses and pictures, as part of his argument that he is a ‘cult leader.’
Above: Lowly attempts of Peter Daley to degrade Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok and brainwash the public.
Above – Front view of Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok giving a benediction prayer; Left: Side view of Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok giving a benediction prayer. As part of his brainwashing tactic, Peter Daley associates the side view of Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok’s two-armed benediction with the well-known “Hail-Hitler” pose (Right).
Peter Daley Spews Hatred
Peter Daley depicts female Providence members as “cult girls” and animals in a video he made, after they tried to speak to him one day.
Above: In this video that shows his character, Peter Daley labels female Providence members as “cult girl 1” and “cult girl 2,” and portrays one girl as a gorilla. Peter Daley produces obnoxious animal sounds to degrade the girl.
He rejected their request to speak to him, and then mocked them in a distasteful video he made. Peter Delay portrayed the two girls being shot in his video with blood splattering afterwards. He labeled them as “brainwashed lunatics” and remarked, “I regretted not bringing my gun.”
Peter Daley depicts himself shooting the ‘cult’ girls. He narrates in this video, “I regretted not bringing my gun” (to school).
Peter Daley’s Infamous Hate Speech
In every interview or news article, he uses what we call “hate speech” and labels Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok as a ‘cult leader,’ ‘heaven’s rapist,’ ‘woolly wolf,’ and ‘Hitler praising serial rapist’ among many other derogatory terms, over and over again. He also has no respect for women, as he depicts female members of Providence to be animals or gorillas. It is quite apparent who the true brainwasher is.
However, in the real world, most people would not get away with labeling somebody those names, regardless of what crimes they’ve committed. How does Peter Daley get away with outright cyber-bullying?
It is because he hides behind the false pretense of being some “righteous man trying to protect the public.” But no, he is not warning people about some “Boogie Man” who is out to capture and rape girls.
News Stations Say Okay to Peter Daley’s Hate Speech
If someone propagates “Peter Daley is a liar” over the internet to warn people of his lying schemes and falsehood, even though it is true, this person would be penalized for hate speech and get into big trouble. Yet Peter Daley hides behind a mask of being ‘righteous’ and trying to protect the public from ‘cults.’ This is why he gets away with spewing hatred across the internet. Members of Providence previously sued Peter Daley, but he got off the hook because his testimonies were important “information” for the public.
Media journalists, who are irresponsible and don’t bother to fact check, continue to take Peter Daley’s resources as true. If not that, they ignore the truth to intentionally spread gossip for the sake of getting clicks.
Is it not laughable that news outlets would actually reference someone who uses Photoshop for malintention and makes animal noises? A man who is so distasteful and immature is not a credible person.
Summary
- Peter Daley endorses hate speech, fabricates stories, Photoshops pictures and doctors videos. He spreads lies, threatens religious freedom, and frequently insults others.
- Peter Daley has no education in cult or religious studies but simply self proclaims to be a cult expert. He does not do thorough research prior to posting or saying things. Furthermore, he does not care about the negative consequences he causes those whom he freely defames and slanders.
- ABC and NZ Herald News frequently publish fake news. These biased and unreliable sources only utilize Peter Daley’s interviews and websites.
- Peter Daley demonstrates hatred towards and hides behind the mask of “being righteous” while cyber-bullying certain groups. He slanders and defames Pastor Jeong Myeong Seok and Providence continuously by making up stories.
The purpose of this article is not to determine whether Providence is a cult vs. a new religious movement. It is to remind people not to immediately judge and condemn a group or religion based on hearsay, one-sided, and unverified accusations. Keep an open mind and do your own research. I believe you will come across the truth after thoroughly doing so.
Read How Wikipedia’s Page on Providence Religious Movement Reeks of Peter Daley’s Falsehood
Thanks for this article! Wow. Peter Daley’s character is so appalling!!
Wow, Peter Daley is really something out of this world… his writings and videos are really full of anger and jealousy. I wonder what kind of childhood he had that led him to do something like this? it seems like making other people’s lives hell is his only enjoyment?!