What Happened?
Spiritual leaders often project an image of purity and enlightenment, but behind the scenes, some work tirelessly to suppress unflattering truths. Swami Vishwananda, a guru with a sizable global following, has faced similar scrutiny. Over the years, numerous allegations have surfaced, painting a much darker portrait of his past than the one he presents to his devotees.
According to a detailed exposé on the Poszukiwacze Prawdy blog, Swami Vishwananda’s alleged misconduct includes exploiting his followers’ trust for personal gain and manipulating spiritual authority. The blog describes how he has employed various tactics to censor damaging news, using legal threats and other strategies to silence whistleblowers. His efforts to maintain a spotless public image have included suppressing allegations of sexual misconduct and financial improprieties, casting a shadow over the authenticity of his teachings.
Despite these efforts to maintain control, the rise of independent platforms has made it increasingly difficult to hide such information. The blog, for instance, outlines shocking details of his attempts to dodge accountability, showing how the spiritual figure’s carefully curated persona is far from the full story. The continued attempts to suppress these revelations raise important questions about transparency and the ethical responsibilities of spiritual leaders.
Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)
Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.
To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.
FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.
Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.
By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Swami Vishwananda and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…
List of Fake Copyright Notices for Swami Vishwananda
| Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s) | 1 |
| Lumen Database Notice(s) | https://lumendatabase.org/notices/40206129 |
| Sender(s) | David James Corp on behalf of ben nelson |
| Date(s) | March 18, 2024 |
| Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers | https://www.cultnews101.com/2022/02/just-love-bhakti-margas-guru-and-his.html |
| Original Link(s) Targeted | https://poszukiwaczeprawdyeu.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/swami-vishwananda-a-sweet-face-of-the-baleful-beast/ |
Evidence and Screenshots
Only Swami Vishwananda Benefit from this crime.
Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Swami Vishwananda from Google, we assume Swami Vishwananda or someone associated with Swami Vishwananda is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Swami Vishwananda. In this case, Swami Vishwananda, at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.
So, who tf is Swami Vishwananda?
Swami Vishwananda is a Mauritian-born spiritual leader and founder of the Bhakti Marga movement, which blends Hinduism with devotional practices aimed at promoting inner peace and divine love. He has garnered a global following, with devotees drawn to his charisma and teachings on personal spirituality. However, despite his seemingly serene public image, Swami Vishwananda has been the subject of serious allegations that have raised concerns about his behavior and intentions.
According to a report on the Poszukiwacze Prawdy blog, Swami Vishwananda has engaged in efforts to censor the internet to prevent damaging information about him from surfacing. His attempts at censorship are allegedly aimed at protecting his reputation by silencing critics and controlling the narrative around his persona. These efforts include legal threats and the suppression of content that exposes troubling aspects of his past.
Major Concerns, Complaints, and Accusations:
- Sexual Misconduct: Swami Vishwananda has been accused of inappropriate behavior with devotees, including allegations of sexual misconduct. These accusations suggest that he has exploited his spiritual authority to manipulate vulnerable followers.
- Financial Exploitation: Critics claim that Vishwananda has taken advantage of his devotees financially, encouraging large donations under the guise of spiritual offerings, which may have been used for personal enrichment rather than charitable or religious purposes.
- Cult-like Control: There are allegations of cult-like behavior within his organization, Bhakti Marga, where followers are said to be encouraged to isolate themselves from friends and family and devote themselves entirely to the spiritual leader. This intense control over devotees’ lives raises concerns about emotional manipulation and psychological exploitation.
- Suppression of Criticism: The most significant concern is Swami Vishwananda’s alleged efforts to stifle criticism. The blog details how former devotees and whistleblowers have been threatened with legal action or pressured into silence, as he attempts to maintain a flawless public image.
These accusations highlight troubling issues related to power dynamics within spiritual organizations and underscore the importance of transparency and accountability, especially for leaders in positions of influence. Swami Vishwananda’s alleged attempts to censor critical information only serve to deepen suspicions around his conduct and motivations.
Potential Consequences for Swami Vishwananda
Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.
Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.
Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.” Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).
Is Swami Vishwananda Committing a Cyber Crime?
Yes, it seems so. Swami Vishwananda used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Swami Vishwananda could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.
Faced with these limitations, some companies like Swami Vishwananda have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.
Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Swami Vishwananda is certainly keeping interesting company here….
The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.
Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.
What was Swami Vishwananda trying to hide?
Swami Vishwananda is reportedly trying to hide a range of adverse news, bad reviews, complaints, and allegations that challenge his public persona as a spiritual leader. According to the exposé on the Poszukiwacze Prawdy blog, these damaging details paint a darker picture of his character and behavior, far from the image he portrays to his followers. Below are some of the key issues he is allegedly attempting to suppress:
1. Sexual Misconduct Allegations:
Swami Vishwananda has been accused of inappropriate and exploitative sexual behavior, particularly involving male devotees. These accusations claim that he took advantage of his position as a spiritual leader to manipulate individuals into intimate relationships, violating the trust placed in him by his followers.
2. Financial Exploitation:
There are complaints that Vishwananda has exploited the financial devotion of his followers, soliciting large sums of money in the form of donations and offerings. Critics suggest that this money was not used for religious or charitable purposes but rather for his personal luxury and enrichment. Former devotees have raised concerns about a lack of transparency in how funds are managed within his organization, Bhakti Marga.
3. Cult-like Practices:
Numerous bad reviews and testimonies describe Bhakti Marga as exhibiting cult-like control over its members. Followers are allegedly encouraged to sever ties with their families and outside communities, devoting themselves entirely to the organization. These practices include emotional manipulation, isolating individuals, and creating an environment where questioning Vishwananda’s authority is discouraged.
4. Silencing Critics and Whistleblowers:
Vishwananda has allegedly made numerous attempts to censor unfavorable content online, including using legal threats and other means to silence those who speak out against him. Former devotees, critics, and bloggers who have exposed the misconduct within Bhakti Marga have reportedly been targeted. This includes the suppression of testimonies and documents that detail his unethical conduct, such as the alleged sexual exploitation, financial impropriety, and abusive power dynamics.
5. Suppressed Documents and Testimonies:
Documents and testimonies that reveal inner workings of his organization and personal life are among the key pieces of information he has allegedly tried to remove from public access. These documents contain firsthand accounts of the alleged abuses and unethical practices that take place behind the scenes, casting doubt on his teachings and authority.
By controlling the flow of information, Swami Vishwananda seems focused on maintaining a polished, spiritual image while hiding these serious complaints and concerns. However, platforms like the Poszukiwacze Prawdy blog continue to make these accusations visible despite his efforts to bury them.
Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi
The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.
Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.
How did Swami Vishwananda purport this DMCA Fraud?
As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Swami Vishwananda creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.
The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.
The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.
