For reference;

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television

Television became available in crude experimental forms in the late 1920s, but it would still be several years before the new technology was marketed to consumers. After World War II, an improved form of black-and-white TV broadcasting became popular in the United States and Britain, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion.

While 'Cult Followings' are very much intertwined with Human nature and history and themselves nothing new, I propose there was a spike in the diversity of cults such as Jonestown during the 50's.

This acceleration was caused by both the dissemination of News Media via Television as well as a growing inter-connectivity of people around the world, i.e. Globalism. People began hearing and spreading news, both good and bad, which affected the decisions and behavior of social groups as a whole.

Factor in 'Operation Mockingbird' where applicable. With Television, any political influence was easy to guide and control. With the explosion in availability of the Internet upon consumers, that influence was lost.

Fast forward to 2016, and we're left with the rise of the left/right, political paradigm. Numerous 'Populist' social groups, clashes with their rival groups and civil unrest, "everywhere you look" -According to the Media. Not to imply that manufactured conflict isn't real conflict.

Whether by intention or not, the changes we are seeing to how modern society functions have a unique and proportionate relationship to how our technological communications are developed, and regulated.