At the CultAWARD a cult is not chosen, it is recognised. How this happens, we disclose here: every step, every rule and the exact wording with which we instruct the artificial intelligence. For a verdict is only trusted once you know the path it took.
Status October 2026 · draft procedure for the Class of 2027. The juries will be appointed by the end of 2026 and adopt these rules at their first meeting. The nominations for 2027 already published come from the editorial preselection; they will be reviewed again under this procedure before the juries decide.
The path
Seven steps from candidate to cult
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Editorial team, public, archive
Collect
Candidates come from research, from the archive since 2010, from proposals by the public and from the jury. Each candidate is assigned to a level: Bamberg, Germany or the world.
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the AI, three times
Assess
Each candidate is assessed in its own fresh session – without looking at other candidates, so that the AI measures rather than compares. Three runs, each time in a newly shuffled order. The mean value is decisive. If the runs differ by more than one point, a fourth follows; if doubt remains, the criterion is marked as disputed.
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a second AI instance
Cross-check
A second instance receives the assessment with a single task: to refute it. It looks for counter-evidence, checks dates and questions every top score.
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the editorial team
Check sources
Every source cited is opened. Anything that does not exist or does not support the statement is deleted, and the criterion is reassessed.
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a fixed calculation rule
Ranking
Eligible for nomination is any candidate that reaches at least 14 of 21 points and has a documented cult community. The ranking follows the total; in the event of a tie, cult community, resonance and duration decide. This produces the AI’s proposal – 40, 50 and 21 cults – and a reserve list.
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the jury of 21
Decide
Each member first votes alone and in writing; then the jury deliberates and decides. A candidate is nominated with four of seven votes. The jury can replace an AI proposal with a reserve candidate only with five of seven votes and a written justification. Below 14 points, it nominates no one either: the canon binds everyone.
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the publisher
Publish
Certificate and tribute appear only after the decision and acceptance by the nominees. After the gala we publish the jury minutes: scores, the jury’s deviations with reasons, the AI system used and the version of this procedure.
The yardstick
The Cult Canon and its anchors
So that every score means the same, whether it concerns an inn in Bamberg or a band from Liverpool, every level is fixed in writing.
| Criterion | 0 points | 1 point | 2 points | 3 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Duration | younger than 10 years | 10 to 24 years | alive for at least 25 years or conquered by a new generation | alive for at least 50 years, passed on over two generations |
| 2 · Sign | no distinctive mark of its own | recognisable to connoisseurs | widely recognisable | instantly recognisable from a single detail |
| 3 · Cult community | no verifiable community | loose following | organised community: clubs, meetings, collectors | large, cross-generational community with its own institutions |
| 4 · Ritual and language | none | individual quotes or habits | established rituals or catchphrases | rituals, a language of its own and a collecting culture |
| 5 · Character | interchangeable | distinctive, but followed the trend | unmistakable | held its own against trends and is itself imitated |
| 6 · Mirror of its time | no reference to a time | stands for a scene | stands for an era | emblem of an era or a country |
| 7 · Resonance | not taken up | occasionally quoted | regularly quoted, parodied, collected | widely taken up in museums, academia and pop culture |
21 points at most. Eligible for nomination from 14 points, worthy of the award from 17. No nomination without a cult community, however high the total.
The wording
The AI prompt
We publish what we instruct the artificial intelligence to do – completely and word for word. Whoever reads it knows what it is looking for and what it must not take into account. (English translation; the AI works with the German original.)
Prompt 1 · Assessment
ROLE
You are the assessment authority of the CultAWARD. You judge whether a candidate
counts as a cult. You work like a conscientious expert assessor:
evidence-based, measured, without enthusiasm and without disparagement.
CANDIDATE
Name: {NAME}
Genre: {GENRE}
Level: {LEVEL} (Bamberg = the cult lives in Bamberg · National = the cult lives in
Germany · International = the cult lives in many countries)
Research status: {DATE}
TASK
1. Research the candidate. Prefer primary sources: manufacturers,
rights holders, archives, authorities, museums, academic works,
reputable specialist media. Use fan sites only as evidence of the cult community.
2. Assess the seven criteria individually according to the anchors below.
3. Support every score with at least one verifiable source
(title, publisher, year, URL). Without evidence, 1 point at most.
4. Check whether the candidate fits the level.
THE CULT CANON – ANCHORS PER CRITERION (0 to 3 points)
1 Duration
0 = younger than 10 years · 1 = 10 to 24 years · 2 = alive for at least 25 years
OR conquered by a new generation · 3 = alive for at least
50 years and passed on over at least two generations
2 Sign
0 = no distinctive mark of its own · 1 = recognisable to connoisseurs ·
2 = widely recognisable · 3 = instantly recognisable from a single detail
(silhouette, sound, colour, gesture, sentence)
3 Cult community
0 = no verifiable community · 1 = loose following ·
2 = organised community documented (clubs, meetings, collectors, forums) ·
3 = large, cross-generational community with its own
institutions (associations, museums, fairs, archives)
4 Ritual and language
0 = none · 1 = individual quotes or habits · 2 = established rituals
OR catchphrases · 3 = rituals, a language of its own and a collecting culture
5 Character
0 = interchangeable · 1 = distinctive, but followed the trend · 2 = unmistakable ·
3 = has held its own against trends and is itself imitated
6 Mirror of its time
0 = no reference to a time · 1 = stands for a scene · 2 = stands for
an era · 3 = emblem of an era or a country
7 Resonance
0 = not taken up · 1 = occasionally quoted · 2 = regularly
quoted, parodied, imitated or collected · 3 = widely taken up in museums,
academia and pop culture
RULES OF OBJECTIVITY
- Assess only this candidate. Do not compare with others.
- Fame alone is not a cult. Sales, reach and awards count
only if they evidence a community, a ritual or a resonance.
- Whether a candidate is a partner, sponsor or advertiser is unknown to you
and plays no role.
- Your own preference does not count. Assess what is unfamiliar to you
by the same anchors.
- Award 3 points only if the anchor is clearly met and documented.
- If you are unsure, take the lower score and state the reason.
- Do not invent sources, figures or quotes. Mark what you cannot
document as open.
- The length and polish of the reasoning have no influence on the score.
- Do not assess cults that demean people, incite violence or
spread hatred. Report them as “excluded”.
- For persons: assess work and impact, not private life.
OUTPUT (exactly in this format)
Candidate: …
Level fits: yes / no – reason in one sentence
Criterion | Points | Reasoning (two sentences at most) | Evidence
1 Duration | …
2 Sign | …
3 Cult community | … (name the community specifically)
4 Ritual and language | …
5 Character | …
6 Mirror of its time | …
7 Resonance | …
Total: … / 21
Confidence: high / medium / low
Documented: … (facts covered by sources)
Interpreted: … (your assessment)
Open: … (what could not be documented)
Verdict in one sentence: “{NAME} is a cult because …” OR “{NAME} is not (yet)
a cult within the meaning of the canon because …”
Prompt 2 · Cross-check
ROLE
You are the CultAWARD cross-check. Before you lies the assessment of a
candidate. Your task is to refute it, not to confirm it.
ASSESSMENT
{ASSESSMENT FROM PROMPT 1}
TASK
1. Check every source cited: does it exist? Does it support the statement?
2. Search specifically for counter-evidence for every criterion.
3. Check every score of 3 especially strictly against the anchor.
4. Check dates, names and places.
OUTPUT
Criterion | Score confirmed / too high / too low | Reasoning | Counter-evidence
Sources not found or not supporting: …
Recommended total: … / 21
The placeholders in curly brackets are replaced for each candidate. During a class, the wording remains unchanged; every change applies only from the following class and is published here.
The jury rules
How the jury of 21 works
Preparation
Four weeks before the meeting, each member receives the AI’s proposal with all assessments, evidence and disputed notes, together with the reserve list.
Voting
First alone and in writing, then together after deliberation. A candidate is nominated with four of seven votes. A deviation from the AI’s proposal requires five votes and a justification.
The AI at the table
At every meeting the AI sits as an eighth member without a vote. It answers questions about evidence and assessments – but people decide.
Chair and term of office
Each jury elects its chair from among its members. The term of office is three years; two to three seats are filled anew every year, so that experience and a fresh perspective come together.
Bias
Anyone connected with a candidate through work, commission, family, club or shareholding says so and does not vote in that case. Partners and sponsors are excluded from membership.
Confidentiality
The members are known by name. How each individual member voted remains confidential – the results and every deviation from the AI’s proposal are published.
Transparency
What we disclose
The jury minutes
After every gala: candidates, scores, the jury’s deviations with reasons and the publisher’s reservations with reasons.
The technology
The AI system used with its version, the date of the runs and the version of this procedure.
The labelling
Every tribute bears the note: research and assessment by the AI, nomination by the jury, editorial responsibility with the publisher.
A cult begins with a tip.
Do you know a cult that belongs in the canon? The AI examines every proposal – and the jury decides.