A reader writes:
The NXIVM tactic of breaking into Toni Natalie’s home and flipping pictures upside down or rearranging them, or otherwise leaving evidence that they were there, is reminiscent of the “Zersetzung” technique of the Stasi the secret police of East Germany, to psychologically neutralize what they considered to be enemies of the state.
In her book “Stasiland”, Anna Funder explained “The German word Zersetzung is harsh, and has no direct English equivalent.” She described, “Zersetzung, as a concept, involves the annihilation of the inner-self.”
In Wikipedia,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zersetzung
“To threaten or intimidate or cause psychoses the Stasi assured itself of access to the target’s living quarters and left visible traces of its presence, by adding, removing, and modifying objects.”
The technical term for this is called “gas-lighting”. Cults use it as a form of harassment against ex-members with the intent to make them question their sanity.