Ex-Mormon here. I’d like to point out that the author used the incorrect full name of the aforementioned cult in the article. My likeliest guess is that they’re someone who was never Mormon and has had little to no contact with a practicing Mormon in their life. So, in the interest of fair journalism, they looked for a cursory glance at Mormonism’s usual critics and the church’s rebuttal to those critics. They may have used the label ‘anti-Mormon’ with the same casualness that someone would use ‘pro-life’ in an article.

Looking at the author’s profile and other articles on Salon, it seems like this guess holds the most weight.