Brent Dill - FAQ
Live document - currently being updated/shared internally. This is v1, as of May 15, 2026.
Brent Dill didn’t do anything wrong.
Well, ok, back up. Brent Dill did something wrong, obviously. Something happened that triggered this mess of a public narrative (see CFAR’s Update And Apology).
So, what actually happened?
I believe I (Defender) know exactly what actually happened. Many people do as well.
No one who knows the full story wants to tell it & stand behind it in public. Part of the reason for this is that it involves private/negative information about people who are public figures.
So, what actually happened?
Everyone close to the matter, anyone who has any facts about the matter, who has spoken to everyone involved, concedes that Brent’s version is accurate (but where is Brent’s version of the story?). Here is Evan who was hired by CFAR to document everything:
Here is George’s testimony:
I can attest that Brent's account hasn't shifted a bit in the years since that text exchange happened. I did not know that was out there until this thread, but I just heard the tale in person after one of my "come hang out with a rat-infamous cancellee" get-togethers (we had to step it up after last year's theme of visiting wizards from leverage ;-). it was nearly verbatim the same, and read as highly sincere.
Further, Divia said on the record some of Louie's claims were true (before editing to "have non-zero truth to them" after legal concerns were raised). E.M. also went on record in the same thread. Unless someone wants to claim those screenshots were fabricated, which I guess is conceivable but I doubt because...
A third person I trust who has no particular dog in this fight has corroborated the broad strokes, and provided ample receipts of frankly far worse behavior in and around the org.
Where is Brent’s version of what happened? What actually happened?
No one seriously believes Brent is dangerous1. Everyone who knows Brent knows he is not dangerous. The position that Brent is in is exactly what would happen if a public figure received a political attack/smear campaign, and chose not to fight back.
I know this because I tested it. I can see what happened when Defender received a smear attack, and Defender did not attempt in any way to correct the completely false things. He wanted to test how far and how sticky an easily verifiably false thing would become a “common knowledge” fact.
For example one of the things people say about Brent is that he is a murderer. There was indeed someone who died in the vicinity of the community he was in (Kathy Forth). The structure of the public perception about Brent is that it sounds REALLY BAD from the outside, and ANY facts you can find about it in an independent investigation make him look better, often either fully exonerating him, or showing that he was doing the right, moral thing.
This is not true of ALL claims against Brent, but it is true of almost all of them.
Which leaves..which NEGATIVE claims about Brent are actually true? That is very hard to sus out from the outside, because of how all the fabricated stories cast doubt on everything.
An actual investigation journalist or lawyer or whatever can figure this out and properly document it. This is not my job. All I know is that Brent didn’t do anything wrong. I tested him, with my firsthand experience, in my community, meeting him in person. He’s good, he’s fine. I am honored and excited to work with him. I know exactly “what’s wrong” with him but his flaws are normal flaws that many others have and we work with them just fine.
It’s fine. There is no “Brent Dill” the monster it’s literally a made up story and no one has bothered to check anything. It’s equally as true as the tpot narrative “Defender doesn’t pay people that work for him” and “ORI doesn’t allow women in”.
Appendix
On Black Lotus, Cults, and Brent Dill (1.5 hour video by Michael Smith)
An Outsider’s Perspective on the Human Sacrifice Rituals of the Rationalist Cult (2.5 hour video by Gentleman Sausage)
A reference to how the original CFAR report “read like a pro Brent Dill press release” in LW article Community misconduct disputes are not about facts
Just to make this statement more precise: hiring Brent or bringing him into your community is exactly as dangerous as bringing people like Aella or Yudkowsky into your community. That is it to say: they are powerful minds & leaders, capable of a lot. Competent people are dangerous in this way.