“Stress and fear kept me on my guard”: the disturbing memories of journalist Brigitte McCann who infiltrated Raël’s sect for 9 months in 2003

In 6^e position of the most watched series on Netflix Canada, Rael: the prophet of extraterrestrials brings the guru back into the news, almost 50 years after the creation of his sect. Among the speakers in the French documentary is the former investigative journalist at Montreal JournalBrigitte McCann, who infiltrated the Raelian movement for 9 months in 2003. The author of the book Diary of an infiltrator looks back on his disturbing experience.

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Why did you agree to participate in the Netflix documentary? “A lot because the production house, which is well known in France, convinced me of the seriousness of their approach. We wanted to tell the history of the movement.”

Were there any moments when you were afraid? “One evening, I found myself two meters from a person who knew me as a journalist. I panicked. My car was far away and leaving would have been very suspicious. I thought: maybe it’s time to stop? Chantal [Poirier, la photographe du Journal de Montréal qui a infiltré le mouvement avec elle] went to talk to him and he was leaving after the party. At that time, when Raël returned somewhere, he was surrounded by armed bodyguards. He already had an aura of paranoia. There was also a lot of denigration against the media.

One thing Rael said that you’ll never forget? “He was on stage and said: I can’t prove that what I say is true, but you can’t prove that what I say is false. That’s the premise of everything he does.”

Did you fear for your physical integrity when the report was published? “The Raelian movement demonstrated in front of the building of Newspaper for a few days. I had security guards because I received threats. They tried to smear my reputation, not necessarily as a journalist, but as a woman. Because they treat women as second-class citizens who must be submissive and in the service of men.”

“During a book signing session at the Montreal Book Fair too. About fifty Raelians surrounded me in a sort of silent procession, placing small mirrors towards me so that I could look at myself. Some left me letters with threats which I handed over to the police. It was worrying to compose with fanatics.”

Do you have any after-effects from these 9 months spent in this sect? “I have never experienced so much stress in my life. But the more I saw things, the more I wanted it to come out. I had entered a secret and devastating world. I wanted to denounce the human cloning hoax. I felt this mission.”

What makes you most proud of all this work? “This investigation won the very first Judith-Jasmin prize at the Montreal Journal.”

How does it feel to see Raël back in the news? And to know that it is still rampant in Japan? “Documentaries on Raël were released last year in Quebec. It coincided with the 20^e anniversary of the “announcement” of the cloned baby. So there was a new interest. During the filming which took place during the pandemic, in Paris, when they showed me scenes where we see Raël in Japan with followers, I admit that I was disappointed. I would have liked what happened in Quebec to be the end of the movement. I also found myself naive to think it was over.”

What outraged you the most during these 9 months spent among the Raëlians? “How people didn’t react! At gatherings where we heard outrageousness and conspiracy theories, no one reacted! They discouraged criticism and questions and encouraged total surrender. That really struck me: the vulnerability of human psychology to indoctrination.”

What would you say to a follower today? “I think we have to try to see why people are taking this approach. By loneliness? Because they don’t have family? This is where you have to take them. In Quebec, many people didn’t care about extra-terrestrials. We talked more about being part of society’s elite. Raël deserves our contempt, he despises others and needs women to be submissive. He needs to feel power over others. But I have developed compassion for followers who have been taken advantage of during a difficult time in their lives. We should not judge them.”

Why do you think there are still such fervent followers? “I only have part of the answer, because putting your logic and common sense in a drawer to follow someone who tells so many lies is still mysterious to me. My explanation is that it meets a need. That of finding a community, being part of a family or even moving up the ladder, which allows you to have power over people. These people need it so much that they forget to think. Faced with the Y of doubt, you have two choices: not to listen to this voice of conscience and adopt everything from the sect, or get out of there.

-The 4 episodes of the documentary series Rael: the prophet of extraterrestrials are on Netflix.