McGibney’s NXIVM Narrative Collides With the Evidence

By Frank Parlato

James McGibney Tries to Bully

James McGibney, the founder of the bullying websites Cheaterville and Bullyville, recently tried to bully me.

- Frank Report — McGibney has a fanciful image of himself

Bluto_color losers - Frank Report — So does Bluto

McGibney took to social media and on his website to state that I was complicit in the crimes of NXIVM. He claims I merely “covered my own ass” when the truth about NXIVM emerged—and not that the reason the truth emerged is that I exposed it.

McGibney’s claims rely not on evidence but on insinuation. But people often do what they know how to do, and McGibney has built a small industry around that particular impulse.

Indeed, there is something almost tender in the way McGibney ignores the historical record, which is not merely inconvenient but fatal to his argument.

He is rather adorably childlike in the way he overlooks the plain, stubborn facts, which reveal more about him than any threat or boast he makes on his own behalf.

Facts, after all, are patient. They wait.

What the Evidence Shows

McGibney, who now owns the domain nxivm.com, claims—without evidence—that he is producing a documentary on a major platform and soliciting NXIVM victims to portray me as a leader of NXIVM.

It is a curious accusation. It stands in rather stark opposition to the public record.

His is an ambitious revision of history, achieved not through evidence but through an attempt to manufacture evidence in service of a conclusion he hopes to reach.

The Record, According to Grokipedia

Grokipedia, citing more than 50 sources, dares to contradict the bully.

Frank Parlato’s Role

Breaking the Story

“Parlato’s June 5, 2017, article on the Frank Report, titled ‘Branded Slaves and Master Raniere,’ first publicly disclosed the practice of branding women in NXIVM’s DOS subgroup… predating broader media coverage such as The New York Times’ October 17, 2017, exposé.”

Immediate Impact

“Prompted additional NXIVM members to come forward with accounts of blackmail and exploitation, thereby furnishing investigators with corroborative details.”

“NXIVM defectors later attested to the Frank Report’s role in empowering exits and testimonies, with figures like Edmondson crediting it for sustaining momentum against organizational suppression.”

FBI Investigation

“Defectors from NXIVM, including those who testified in federal trials, have attributed the initiation of the U.S. Department of Justice’s racketeering investigation—culminating in Keith Raniere’s March 25, 2018, arrest—to Parlato’s platform.”

Working With Law Enforcement

“Parlato worked with NXIVM critic Catherine Oxenberg to compile a comprehensive dossier of documents, witness statements, and other materials, which Oxenberg presented to the New York Attorney General’s office.”

Media Catalyst

Frank Parlato addresses the media on the NXIVM case.

“The New York Times’ October 17, 2017, feature ‘Inside a Secretive Group Where Women Are Branded,’ explicitly referenced Parlato’s Frank Report as a key source for unraveling NXIVM’s inner workings.”

“Shifted NXIVM from obscurity to national scrutiny, with Parlato portrayed as a pivotal whistleblower.”

Victim Recognition

“In July 2023, several NXIVM defectors, including former high-ranking members, submitted letters to a federal court advocating for leniency in Parlato’s sentencing… explicitly praising his role in dismantling the group and preventing further harm to victims.”

His reporting “contributed directly to Raniere’s June 2019 conviction on federal charges carrying a 120-year sentence.”

Professional Recognition

The Buffalo News: “Crusading investigative reporter whose NXIVM coverage uncovered systemic abuses.”

Rolling Stone: Series of DOS revelations as a catalyst for broader investigations.

Investigation Discovery: Crediting him with first disclosing the branding practices in 2017.

What the Record Establishes

The record is based on court filings, victim impact statements, direct trial testimony, and reporting by major media outlets such as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and real documentaries—as opposed to the imaginary documentary of McGibney’s boast—including Investigation Discovery, HBO’s The Vow, Starz’s Seduced, and scores of other media sources, major and minor.

That record establishes that my reporting was first to publicly expose Keith Alan Raniere’s DOS branding practices, encouraged victims to quit and flee, and in some cases, give sworn testimony. It prompted the federal investigation and directly contributed to Keith Raniere’s 2018 arrest in Mexico—after all, I found out his hiding place—and his 2019 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

McGibney’s claims that I “didn’t take down shit” and was “covering his own ass” contradict the statements of NXIVM survivors themselves, who told a federal judge in 2023 that my reporting was instrumental in their escape and Raniere’s prosecution.

Indeed, his claim has an air of projection about it, for he loves to say he took down Hunter Moore—which he did not.

The Difference Between Noise and Record

Ultimately, facts do not shout. Nor do they write themselves in ALL-CAPS as does his psychiatric imaginary friend, Credible Intel, on social media. They do not threaten. They simply remain. They are alien to our boastful bully, James McGibney.

C240084B-EAEB-4420-AC2B-580C9A6585CF_4_5005_c - Frank Report

Debate Offer Still Open

Just to remind Professor McGibney, my offer to debate you remains open. so far I have not heard a word from you. I know, facts confuse you.

E3F28F3A-84FE-44CD-818B-9DD4EE627F10_4_5005_c - Frank Report

Here are some of the sources Grokipedia lists. I know McGibney has little interest in facts, and in general is intellecutally incapable of understanding them, but here they are, provided, merely to show he has no need for evidence or facts.