The Big 'Multi Level Marketing is legal' Lie, as recited by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

 On the phone-in: we discuss multi-level marketing schemes. And first, a strange tale of prematurely reported death | Maritime Noon | On Demand | CBC Listen

This very recent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio discussion perfectly demonstrates the mainstream media's intellectually feeble attitude towards the Big 'MLM is legal ' Lie.

Although Julie Anderson, a courageous Canadian 'MLM' cult survivor, participated, the discussion was introduced by a presenter and a 'business' academic, based on the false assumption that 'MLM is a viable and legal form of commerce in Canada.'

In reality, there are criminal laws in Canada which define and prohibit all forms of fraud, including fraud by the withholding of important information. Since these criminal laws have never been enforced in Canada with regard to the Big 'MLM' Lie, this form of cultic racketeering has been effectively authorized there since the 1970s. Essentially the same lamentable situation exists throughout almost the entire world, where similar criminal laws remain unenforced.

Laughably, during the discussion, the Canadian 'business' academic stated that the US Federal Trade Commision had examined 350 MLM companies and discovered that 99% of participants were losing money. However, he still insisted that 'MLM is legal' and that it is possible for some participants to make money.  Typically, he offered no quantifiable evidence to back up his foolish assumptions.

This gaff demonstrated that the 'business' academic didn't have the beginnings of a clue what he was talking about. In reality, the FTC's website only contains a report compiled by an independent American academic, John Taylor, who spent 15 years examining 350 so-called 'MLM' companies. Taylor sent his report electronically to the FTC where it was automatically posted online as correspondence. The report has remained unchallenged on the FTC's website for many years, but contrary to what this Canadian 'business' academic evidently imagines, FTC staff played no role in compiling the report, and the FTC has never officially endorsed it

Sadly, Taylor's report failed to conclude that the 99+% loss rate that he uncovered was only a snapshot of the 'MLM' phenomenon. i.e. At any given moment, 99+% of participants are condemned to be wasting their time and losing their money, but ill-informed losing 'MLM' participants are constantly being churned at rates in excess of 50% per year. This means that the actual overall 'MLM' net loss/churn rate has been building up exponentially for decades, to the point where it has long since reached effectively 100%. For obvious reasons, this important information has never been made publicly available by any so-called 'MLM' company. Yet, any claim, or implication, that one penny of extra net-income, let alone life-changing sums of money, can be generated lawfully by participating in an 'MLM business opportunity,' is dangerous comic-book nonsense designed to entice and deceive.

Once the above is understood, it should also become obvious that 'MLM' cultic racketeering has been an officially unrecognized criminogenic phenomenon of historic significance.

David Brear (copyright 2025)