Anke Richter is a New Zealand correspondent in the Weltreporter network and an international observer of cults. She is the author of four non-fiction books. Her last one, CULT TRIP: Inside the world of coercion & control (HarperCollins, 2023), is an investigative and personal exploration of former and current sex cults. 

Richter’s reporting has been published in Die Zeit, Spiegel, FAZ, taz, New Zealand Geographic, North & South, The Spinoff, Stuff, RNZ, TVNZ and many more. She is now the founder and pro bono director of DECULT, a grassroots charity that organized the first cult awareness conference in New Zealand. Richter was awarded New Zealand Skeptic of the Year in 2024 and won the Ethical Media Award from the Freedom Express Awards in 2025.