There are a growing number of resources about multi-level marketing and related topics which you may find helpful.
| Books | Documentaries & videos | Articles & reports | Podcasts | Activists, writers, researchers & groups | International resources & articles |
Books
- Combatting Cult Mind Control, Steve Hassan
- False Profits: Seeking Financial and Spiritual Deliverance in Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Schemes, Robert FitzPatrick
- Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Thoughts and Beliefs, Steve Hassan
- Influence: Science and Practice, Robert Cialdini
- Merchants of Deception (Amway), Eric Scheibeler (free download)
- Marauders of Hope, Aruna Ravikumar
- Multi-Level Marketing Unmasked, Jon M. Taylor (free download)
Documentaries & videos
- The American Dream Denied: Herbalife Victims Speak Out, Facts About Herbalife
- Anti MLM Information from an Ex # BossBabe, Monica Siembieda
- Betting on Zero
- Door Knockers: Arbonne, The Checkout, ABC TV
- Ellie Undercover: Secrets of the Multi-Level Millionaires, BBC Three (UK only)
- Get Rich Quick, The Feed VICELAND, SBS
- How to Spot a Pyramid Scheme, Facts About Herbalife
- How to Spot a Pyramid Scheme, Stacie Bosley, TED Ed
- Are make-up empires exploiting mums?, BBC Stories (cut down version of the Ellie Undercover documentary)
- I quit dōTERRA and WHY, ButtercupDragon Mac&Cheese
- If You’re My Friend Then You’ll Buy This (parody), Leeann and Michelle
- Multilevel Marketing, John Oliver, Last Week Tonight
- Multi-Level Marketing Schemes, Samantha Bee, Full Frontal
- Multi-Level Marketing: Opportunity Knocking, The Checkout, ABC TV
- Multi-level marketing (MLM): Supporters vs Critics, BBC Stories
- The Cult I Almost Joined — Young Living Essential Oils, Genetically Modified Skeptic
- The Secrets of Making Money on Social Media Through Multi-Level Marketing, Ellie Undercover, BBC
- Why Women Are Quitting Their Side Hustle: Leaving LuLaRoe, VICE
(A partial list)
Articles & reports
- The Case (for and) against Multi-level Marketing, Jon M. Taylor
- Coercive Techniques in Business Opportunity Cults, Douglas M. Brooks (conference presentation, ICSI conference, 2019)
- Decision-making and vulnerability in a pyramid scheme fraud, Bosley, Bellemare, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Vol 80, June 2019 (research paper abstract)
- Dear Friend Selling MLM Products, It Isn’t You, Mary Katherine, Scary Mommy
- The Eye on the Pyramids, Part 3, MLMs and Conservative Republican Infrastructure, Rick Perlstein, The Nation
- How to Get a Friend out of an MLM, Caroline Thomson, VICE
- The Lies of the Bossbabes—How MLMs are Holding Back Feminism, Jessica Wood, Medium
- Multi-Level Menace, Denise Sutherland, Skeptical Inquirer
- Network Marketing: A Cult for Mums? Kate Dyson, The Motherload
- Pyramid Schemes, Scamwatch, ACCC
- The Five Red Flags, Jon M. Taylor
- The Nu Face of Pyramid Schemes? Richard Worth, The Overtake
- These Shopping-Oriented Pyramid Schemes Lure in Ladies, Then Steal Their Friends, Cash and Confidence, Kate J. M. Baker, Jezebel
- ‘They have you in a cultish grip’: the women losing thousands to online beauty schemes, Amelia Tait, The Guardian
- Uganda’s Health Pyramid, Priya Biring
(This is only a partial list — there are many more out there!)
Podcasts
- The Dream (Essential listening!)
- Cult or Just Weird? — Apples, Oranges and Roses, Part 1; Apples, Oranges and Roses, Part 2
- IndoctriNation (about systems of control in general)
- Sounds Like MLM But OK
- Stuff Mom Never Told You — Women and Pyramid Schemes
- Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know — What is Multi-level Marketing?
- That’s a Cult? — MLM Schemes
- This American Life — Wake Up Now
Activists, writers, researchers & groups
We believe in sharing the work of other anti-MLMers; however, inclusion on this list does not imply an official connection with or endorsement by the Coalition.
Many of those listed below have multiple social media accounts (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc), which can be discovered via their links below:
- BeBe WB
- Bill Keep
- Bottlesoup
- BotWatch
- ChammyIRL
- Crownless Princesses
- David Brear
- Elle Beau
- Ethan Vanderbuilt
- Emma the Naked Typist
- Facts About Herbalife
- The Finance Guy
- The Fraud Files
- How LuLaRoe Failed
- Hunbot Comics
- Informed Is Key
- Just Say No, Kids
- Just Say No To Scams
- Kool Aid & Karma
- Lulascrewed
- MLM and Other Annoying ‘Job’ Adverts
- MLM Confidential
- MLM Exposed
- The MLM File
- MLM Intel
- MLM Lies Exposed
- MLM Rep Shame
- MLM Riot
- A (MLM) Skeptic
- The MLM Syndrome
- MLM Watch
- Mombie
- MommyGyver
- Multi-Level Marketing Exposed
- r/antiMLM
- r/DefectiveDetectives (LuLaRoe)
- r/LuLaNo
- r/Youniqueamua
- Pink Truth
- Pink Victim
- Pinkwashed Nightmare
- Primerica GOD (parody)
- Pyramid Scheme Alert
- The Recovering Hunbot (YouTube)
- Roberta Blevins
- Sounds Like MLM But OK
- Sounds Like MLM But Okay
- Sounds Like MLM Science But Okay
- Stacie Bosley (Associate Professor of Economics)
- Talented Ladies Club
- Timeless Vie
- Truth In Advertising
- Unwash Your Brain
- Uzzies Uncensored / Amber
International resources & articles*
- AntiMLM Facebook group (Burmese)
- 傳銷難做 逾7成賺無錢 僅千分之3年領逾30萬 (Chinese, Taiwan)
- Amwey Business (Czech)
- Het Multi-Level Marketing Forum (Dutch)
- Going against the slippery slope of a pyramid scheme, Hu Yongqi, China Daily (English, about China)
- Scam artists take advantage of downturn in China’s economy, Calum Macleod, ABC News (English, about China)
- Why China keeps falling for pyramid schemes, Eugene K. Chow, The Diplomat (English, about China)
- Corporate Frauds Watch, Shyam Sundar (English, from India)
- Marauders of Hope, (book website) (English, from India)
- Anti Lampe Berger blog (English, from Malaysia)
- Have Three Million People in Taiwan Joined a Business Cult?, David Vaughan, Taiwan News (English, about Taiwan)
- Anti MLM Movement Deutschland, Instagram (German)
- Direktvertrieb, Network-und Multi-Level-Marketing (German)
- MLM-Beobachter blog (German)
- MLM: Ce qu’on ne vous dit pas, Facebook page (French)
- Trucs, astuces et motivation pour un mode de vie anti-arnaque Facebook group (French)
- Anti-Bisnis-MLM dan Bisnis Investasi Bodong blog (Indonesian)
- BUTAC — ” Una guida al network marketing (Italian)
- JuicePlus l’antitrust indaga sui prodotti dimagranti (Italian)
- Lyoness e il cashback: chiesti quasi due millioni indietro (Italian)
- Vendita piramidale e promozione ingannevole, sanzione da oltre 3 milioni a Lyoness (Italian)
- Usaha Negara China Dalam Membendung MLM Malaysia? Haiya!!! (Malay & English)
- O Esgoto do Capitalismo (Portuguese)
- Anti MLM (Esquema de pirámide) (Marketing multi nivel) (Spanish)
* Arranged alphabetically by language. If you run an anti-MLM group or website in your country, or have links to online articles on this topic to share, please contact us. We are especially keen to add non-English resources.
Last updated: 22 October 2019
The Anti-MLM Coalition 