“The Jehovah Witness Watchtower is a big money (billion a year) mind control operation that steals the hearts, minds and ultimately the lives of it’s followers. The cult uses mind control tools to keep members in line such as: milieu control, loaded language, demand for purity, confession, mystical manipulation, doctrine over person, sacred science, dispensing of existence, control of environment, closed logic, and most of all fear.” And “Cult members…aren’t allowed to read anything critical of the cult so they don’t think for themselves. [They use] mind control techniques to create a nowhere to run, nowhere to hide atmosphere for the members. Members must literally spy on other cult members to ensure that they have not violated cult rules.
As Cyberjesus said - it's in your post. Everything is correct in the above statement. Although like Agonus said - you would have to have been one to get it. The mind control is in the articles and layered in year after year, it's in the talks, in the songs, it's the repetition, the number of meetings, assemblies, personal study of their articles (your are told to read it, then re-read it and meditate and underline the answers and then you go over the SAME article at the Kingdom Hall).
Everyone who is and was a Jehovah's Witness has been a victim of mind control. THERE IS NO EXCEPTION.
In short, as long as people can just walk away from a religion and speak out against it, how much of a “cult” can it be? And how much is hype?
You CANNOT just walk away from THIS religion. You lose your friends, your family, sometimes your spouse and your children, your business contacts, your lifelines with anyone who is still in. You can try to fade, you can disassociate but that all comes with a price. A price way too high.
How much is hype? NONE of it is.
Imagine: Your child is dying in a hospital and needs blood to save them. The elders from the hall come in and give you support to DENY your child this life saving procedure. You decide to take it. The elders try to stop you. They try to kidnap your child so that no blood transfusion is given. You fight for your child's life. You are then considered disloyal to GOD for saving your child. You are disfellowshipped and your child is treated like an outcast. You are told that if Armageddon comes tomorrow YOU and YOUR CHILD will be massacred by Jehovah because you disobeyed the Watchtower's stance on blood which they deem EQUAL to God's word. You will not get a resurrection - you and your child have been doomed for all eternity. At that point you are shunned by everyone. You can try to work your way back into their good graces by repenting of your sin and attending all the meetings and grovelling at the feet of the elders in your hall for possibly years on end before THEY decide if you are repentant or not. I could go on but you must get the picture by now.
Hype? No. Cult? Yes.
The Jehovah's Witness Organization (Watchtower Society) is a Cult. It is not interested in God or truth. It is interested in power and control and will use any means to get it.
I hope that somewhat answers your question.