Gaia, Inc.

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"Gaiam" redirects here. For the distribution company, see Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment. For the company also known as Gaiam, see Chorion (company).
Gaia, Inc.
TypePublic
Nasdaq: GAIA (Class A)
Russell 2000 Component
IndustryVideo production
Founded1988; 35 years ago (1988)
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
FounderJirka Rysavy
Headquarters
Louisville, Colorado
,
U.S.
Key people
Rysavy, CEO, and Paul Tarell, CFO[1]
RevenueIncrease US$66.827 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020)[2]
Increase US$0.699 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020)[2]
Increase US$0.519 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020)[2]
Total assetsIncrease US$110.017 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020)[2]
Total equityIncrease US$74.235 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020)[2]
Websitewww.gaia.com

Gaia, Inc. is an American alternative media video on demand streaming service founded by Jirka Rysavy in 1988.

Gaia has been criticized as a "conspiracy theory hub,"[3] with content featuring British conspiracy theorist David Icke. Additional content includes videos promoting the chemtrail conspiracy theory,[citation needed] UFO conspiracy theories, Astral projection, and The Lost City of Atlantis.

Gaia is a streaming service that largely features videos and contains written articles.[4]

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

Gaia was founded by Czechoslovakian-born entrepreneur Jirka Rysavy in 1988.[5]

Gaia was founded in the late 1980s as a Yoga equipment brand, including mail-order exercise videos, amongst other alternative medicine products.[6]

In 2001, Gaia merged with the Californian company Real Goods Solar, a residential and commercial solar power integrator with a focus on off-the-grid living.[7] Gaia continued expansion and in 2003 bought a 50.1% share in its UK distributor Leisure Systems International (LSI).[8]

As Gaia continued to expand its video service, in 2005, Gaia acquired the media assets of GoodTimes Entertainment and Jetlag Productions.[9]

Gaia acquired both Lime TV[10] and Zaadz.com[11] in 2007 to start what was called the LOHAS network (LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability).[11]

2010s–present[edit]

In 2011, Gaia launched Gaia TV, a streaming service for videos on yoga, meditation, and fringe science.[12] As Gaia grew their streaming services, they acquired Vivendi Entertainment, a DVD distributor from Vivendi subsidiary Universal Music Group Distribution, merging it with its home entertainment division to form Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment.[13][14]

Sequential Brands Group purchased the Gaiam brand and yoga equipment unit for $167 million in 2016, after which the company rebranded to focusing on its video streaming service.

As Gaia's alternative media streaming services continued to grow, 2019 showed increased popularity for the streaming service. USA Today ranked Gaia, Inc as the world's fastest-growing retailer,[15] spending up to 120% of revenue on advertising.[16]

Gaia added live streaming events from a new event center at its Louisville campus in 2019.[17][18][19] Events are live streamed in 185 countries with simultaneous translation.[20]

In February 2021, Business Insider published an investigative piece detailing workplace harassment and concerns about the surveillance of Gaia employees by the company.[21] Concerns stem from blood tests offered to employees by Gaia, and unsupported reports that Rysavy had installed 'a machine' on the roof of Gaia headquarters to 'psychically monitor employees.'[21] Gaia and Rysavy have also been accused of manipulating the building's energy using crystals.

In November 2021, American singer and actor Demi Lovato became the first celebrity ambassador for Gaia. Lovato announced via their Instagram that they were partnering with Gaia, stating, "Thrilled to be a Gaia ambassador, understanding the world around us (the known and the unknown) is so exciting to me!"[22][23][24][25] Lovato came under scrutiny for the partnership from fans due to Gaia's controversial content.[26]

Streaming services and programming[edit]

Gaia provides services to subscribers in 185 countries, streaming more than 8,000 films.[27] Gaia surpassed 500,000 paid subscribers on September 13, 2018.[28]

Programming[edit]

Topics range from mainstream alternative medicine, such as mindfulness meditation and basic yoga, to conspiracy theories and fringe theories. This includes vaccine misinformation, UFO conspiracy theories, astral projection, and the Illuminati.

  • Metaphysics, a branch of philosophy that studies ideas about the nature of reality and being and includes ontology, cosmology, and epistemology.[29] Gaia offers fringe metaphysical content, with a focus on Western esotericism topics such as universal consciousness and energy.
  • Astrology, the pseudoscience of attempting to divine the future based on the movements of celestial bodies.[30]
  • Pseudo-archaeology, fringe theories on ongoing archaeological debates far from the mainstream.[31][32] Gaia's programming ranges from discussion of Turkey's Gobekli Tepe archeological site,[33][34] through to theories on how aliens built the pyramids on Earth as well as on Mars.
  • Alchemy, an ancient practice of attempting to transmute matter and create elixiers of everlasting life.[35][36] It is promoted as a current pseudoscience via Gaia's alchemy-focused programs hosted by Theresa Bullard.[37]
  • Mysticism, topics such as the classification of mystical experiences, and their nature in different religions and mystical traditions.[38] Mystics differ from culture to culture (e.g. shamans, theurgists, Daoists, Kabbalists, Western esotericism, Buddhists, or Christians).[39] Programs on Gaia address primarily New Age and Eastern mysticism.
  • Kundalini, a primal force or energy thought believed in by some Hindu practices,[40] and proposed to be controllable by yoga, meditation, or chanting.[41][42] Gaia has beginner and moderate Kundalini yoga videos.
  • Alternative medicine, non-scientific or counterfactual attempts to replicate the healing effects of the medicine. A large portion of Gaia's content centers on energy healing, naturopathy, traditional chinese medicine, Ayurveda or time travel.
  • Nutrition, the diet and nutrients necessary to maintain life and health. Some of Gaia's content promotes balanced diets. Some were created in a partnership with Mayo Clinic[43][44] (though this partnership has been controversial).[45] It also promotes practices such as detox, superfoods or Paleolithic diet.
  • Meditation, the mental practice of focusing on a particular object, thought, or activity to improve one's mind, has been shown to be valuable for relaxation and stress reduction.[46] Gaia offers different meditation series that range from established relaxation meditation to highly fringe attempts to control reality or cross into parallel universes.

A show hosted by George Noory, covers several pseudoscientific topics such as psychic vampires, Hollow Earth theory, and mummified aliens.[47][48][49][50] This content has been criticized as misleading or falsified.[47][51]

Lawsuit and accusations of Luciferianism[edit]

In 2018, conspiracy theorist David Wilcock left Gaia. After his departure, his resignation letter circled the internet, supposedly claiming Gaia was spreading "Lucifer propaganda." These accusations generated substantial hate mail and death threats toward Gaia staff. Wilcock eventually apologized to Gaia, and stated in his apology letter that his words were taken out of context and was meant to remain internal.[21][52]

That same year, Patty Greer, a filmmaker formerly contracted by Gaia, accused Gaia of "promoting Luciferianism and using directed-energy weapons against critics."[53][54][55][56] Greer claims she was attacked with a "directed energy weapon" in the Phoenix, Arizona airport in 2017.[27]

Greer alleged her films were intentionally removed from the website after she refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of a deal in 2015 for her to gain distribution rights to her films, which were previously sold to Gaia in 2011.[27]

Following numerous[clarification needed] videos and posts from Greer claiming Gaia was infiltrated by satanists and reptilians, and accusing them of using a directed energy weapon against her,[55] Gaia sued Greer for slander. Gaia claimed that Greer was retaliating after a decline in viewership of her videos hosted on Gaia's streaming services.[27]

In response to the lawsuit, Greer defended herself by saying she "simply reports" on what she read and heard from sources and that she was given information from Gaia employees under the username #GEM (which stands for 'Gaia Employee Movement').[52] Many of the reports Greer received included the same claims from David Wilcock's resignation letter, which alleged satanists had infiltrated Gaia.[55]

On December 14, 2018, the case was dismissed without prejudice, noting that Greer hadn't been served. On December 27, Gaia filed another lawsuit against Greer, seeking one million in damages.[57] The lawsuit was settled in 2019, and Greer posted an apology to her website as part of a settlement agreement and removed all of the content surrounding Gaia and #GEM.[52]

Conspiracy theories[edit]

Gaia's controversial topics and frequent advocating for debunked conspiracy theories has gotten the company deplatformed from multiple social media sites, such as YouTube and Facebook.[58]

Conspiracy theories frequently shared by Gaia, and platformed on their streaming services, include the assassination of John F. Kennedy,[59][60] Operation Paperclip,[61][62] Project MKUltra,[63][64] and Big Pharma conspiracy theories,[65][66] including vaccine misinformation.[58]

Additional conspiracy theories center around outer space, and UFO, extraterrestrial life, and including that by government programs, such as the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program.[67]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Management Team". Gaia. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Gaia, Inc. 2020 Annual Report" (PDF). Gaia. December 31, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "Demi Lovato's Fans Voice Outrage After Singer Joins Controversial Conspiracy Site Gaia". ELLE. November 17, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Murphy, Duane Paul (September 25, 2018). "The Gaia Deception: Digital New Age Nonsense". TheHumanist.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  5. ^ 'Gaiam Third Child of Entrepreneur Rysavy,' Boulder County Business Report, November 1, 1998, p. 1.
  6. ^ Price, Rob. "Gaiam, one of the world's most popular yoga mats, has its roots in a conspiracy site that touts alien secrets and 9/11 theories". Business Insider. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  7. ^ 'Gaiam, Real Goods to Merge,' Denver Post, October 17, 2000, p. C2.
  8. ^ Gaiam, Inc. (2003). 10-K Annual Report 2003. Retrieved December 20, 2012 from Gaiam Corporate Website Archived June 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Gaiam closes GoodTimes Entertainment Deal at $35M" Archived 2013-12-14 at the Wayback Machine. Denver Business Journal. 9-14-2005. Retrieved 12-20-2012.
  10. ^ "Gaiam, Zaadz, LIME Media & Conscious Enlightenment Create Unified Source for LOHAS". Bloomberg. 6-6-2007.
  11. ^ a b Zaadz: Green Living Social Network Acquired" Archived 2013-01-26 at the Wayback Machine. Mashable. 6-6-2007. Retrieved 12-20-2012
  12. ^ Gaiam, Inc (2011). 10-K Annual Report 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2012, from Gaiam Corporate Website. Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Gaiam Completes Acquisition of Vivendi Entertainment Creating Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment, the Nation’s Largest Independent Content Distributor - MarketWatch Archived 2012-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Gaiam Acquires Vivendi Entertainment: Deal creates major indie distrib of nontheatrical content" Archived 2012-06-29 at the Wayback Machine. Variety Magazine. 4-3-2012. Retrieved 12-20-2012
  15. ^ "Among the world's 20 fastest growing retailers, Amazon just ranks at No. 4". USA Today. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  16. ^ "Gaia Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). February 24, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  17. ^ "Gaia to launch live streaming from Louisville campus". Boulder Daily Camera. April 27, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  18. ^ "Gaia to launch live streaming from Louisville campus". Boulder Daily Camera. April 27, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  19. ^ "Gaia Widens Loss In Q3 | SGB Media Online". sgbonline.com. November 5, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  20. ^ "Louisville's Gaia grows revenue, aims for 1M subscribers by 2019". Longmont Times-Call. May 8, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c Price, Rob. "Gaia was a wildly popular yoga brand. Now it's a publicly traded Netflix rival pushing conspiracy theories while employees fear the CEO is invading their dreams". Business Insider. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  22. ^ McNab, Kaitlyn (November 18, 2021). "Demi Lovato Joined Gaia — Here's Why It Matters". Teen Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  23. ^ Strunck, Clara (November 17, 2021). "Demi Lovato Joins Conspiracy Site Gaia - Here's What You Need To Know". Elle. UK. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  24. ^ Paper Magazine (November 9, 2021). "Demi Lovato Is Out Here Promoting a Site for Conspiracy Theorists". Paper. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  25. ^ Rude, Mey (November 9, 2021). "What You Need to Know About Demi Lovato Joining Conspiracy Site Gaia". Out. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  26. ^ "Demi Lovato Joined Gaia — Here's Why It Matters". Teen Vogue. November 18, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c d Pampuro, Amanda (August 21, 2018). "Gaia Hits Filmmaker Patty Greer With an Old-School Weapon: a Lawsuit". Westword. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  28. ^ "Gaia Widens Loss In Q3 | SGB Media Online". sgbonline.com. November 5, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  29. ^ "Definition of METAPHYSICS". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  30. ^ Zarka, Philippe (2009). "Astronomy and astrology". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. 5 (S260): 420–425. doi:10.1017/S1743921311002602. ISSN 1743-9221.
  31. ^ Whipps, Heather; Peterson, Elizabeth (October 27, 2016). "The 25 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth". livescience.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  32. ^ "25 Archaeological Controversies That Have Scholars Divided". Educate Inspire Change. June 27, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  33. ^ Curry, Andrew. "Gobekli Tepe: The World's First Temple?". Smithsonian. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  34. ^ "Skull Cult at Göbekli Tepe - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  35. ^ "What is alchemy?". www.rsc.org. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  36. ^ Grafton, Professor of History Anthony; Newman, William R.; Grafton, Anthony; Buchwald, Jed Z. (2001). Secrets of Nature: Astrology and Alchemy in Early Modern Europe. MIT Press. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-262-14075-1.
  37. ^ "Alchemy for Soul Ascension with Theresa Bullard". Regina Meredith. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  38. ^ Gellman, Jerome (2019), "Mysticism", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2019 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved November 22, 2019
  39. ^ "Mysticism - Mystical states". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  40. ^ "What is Kundalini? - Definition from Yogapedia". Yogapedia.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  41. ^ Muktananda, Swami (2000). Play of consciousness = Chitshakti vilas: a spiritual autobiography. SYDA Foundation. (3rd ed.). South Fallsburg, NY: SYDA Fdn. ISBN 0-911307-81-8. OCLC 42296147.
  42. ^ "I Tried Kundalini Yoga. Here's Everything You Need To Know". mindbodygreen. July 7, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  43. ^ "Gaiam: Mayo Clinic Wellness Solutions for Insomnia on Apple TV". Apple TV. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  44. ^ "Mayo Clinic Wellness Solutions for Menopause Season 1 Episode 1 Watch Online | The Full Episode". www.msn.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  45. ^ Li, Ben; Forbes, Thomas L.; Byrne, John (2018). "Integrative medicine or infiltrative pseudoscience?". The Surgeon. 16 (5): 271–277. doi:10.1016/j.surge.2017.12.002. PMID 29305045. S2CID 19580427.
  46. ^ "A beginner's guide to meditation". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  47. ^ a b "An ancient, mummified alien has been found, group claims". The Independent. June 26, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  48. ^ "'Alien' mummies likely to be distorted, stolen Nazca bodies". NewsComAu. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  49. ^ Heaney, Christopher. "The Racism Behind Alien Mummy Hoaxes". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  50. ^ "George Noory's Online TV Show Launches December 14th" Archived 2014-02-03 at the Wayback Machine. All Access. 12-11-2012.
  51. ^ "FACT CHECK: Did Researchers Find a Mummified, Three-Fingered Alien in Nazca, Peru?". Snopes.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  52. ^ a b c Pampuro, Amanda. "Gaia Settles Million-Dollar Lawsuit Against Filmmaker Patty Greer". Westword. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  53. ^ Pampuro, Amanda (August 21, 2018). "Gaia Hits Filmmaker Patty Greer With an Old-School Weapon: a Lawsuit". Westword. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  54. ^ "UFO filmmaker who called former client 'Luciferian' sued for defamation". BusinessDen. August 9, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  55. ^ a b c Pampuro, Amanda (December 31, 2018). "Slander Suit Against Filmmaker Patty Greer Dismissed, Then Refiled". Westword. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  56. ^ "CropCircleFilms.com Offers Patty Greer's Award Winning Crop Circle UFO Films". Crop Circle Films. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  57. ^ Pampuro, Amanda. "Slander Suit Against Filmmaker Patty Greer Dismissed, Then Refiled". Westword. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  58. ^ a b "Demi Lovato Signs On As "Ambassador" For Conspiracy Theory Website". Stereogum. November 9, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  59. ^ Gillon, Steven M. "Why the Public Stopped Believing the Government about JFK's Murder". HISTORY. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  60. ^ "JFK assassination conspiracy theories: The grassy knoll, Umbrella Man, LBJ and Ted Cruz's dad". Washington Post. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  61. ^ "Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program to Bring Nazi Scientists to America — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  62. ^ Lewis, Danny. "Why the U.S. Government Brought Nazi Scientists to America After World War II". Smithsonian. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  63. ^ "MK-Ultra". HISTORY. August 21, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  64. ^ "History's greatest conspiracy theories". The Telegraph. March 16, 2016. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  65. ^ "Five more states sue OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma for opioid epidemic". NBC News. May 16, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  66. ^ Blaskiewicz, Robert (December 1, 2013). "The Big Pharma conspiracy theory". Medical Writing. 22 (4): 259–261. doi:10.1179/2047480613Z.000000000142. ISSN 2047-4814.
  67. ^ Cooper, Helene; Blumenthal, Ralph; Kean, Leslie (December 16, 2017). "Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2019.

External links[edit]

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