Scientology is a Cult: Anonymous Recap

It has been a dozen days since “Tom Cruise on Tom Cruise Scientologist” was so beautifully leaked:

Leaked video background information via hacker collective Anonymous’ wiki “website:”

In January 2008, a video produced by the Church of Scientology featuring an interview with Tom Cruise was leaked to the Internet and uploaded to YouTube. In the video, music from Cruise’s Mission: Impossible films plays in the background, and Cruise makes claims including saying that Scientologists are the only people who can help at the scene of a car accident, and that Scientologists are the authority on getting addicts off drugs.^[5][6] According to The Times, Cruise can be seen in the video “extolling the virtues of Scientology”.^[1] The Daily Telegraph characterizes Cruise as “manic-looking” during the interview, “gush[ing] about his love for Scientology”.^[7]

The Church of Scientology asserted that the video material that had been leaked to YouTube and other websites was “pirated and edited” and taken from a three-hour video produced for members of Scientology.^[6][8] YouTube removed the Cruise video from their site under threat of litigation.^[9] As of January 25, 2008, the web site Gawker.com was still hosting a copy of the Tom Cruise video, and other sites have posted the entire video.^[10][9] Lawyers for the Church of Scientology sent a letter to Gawker.com demanding that they remove the video, but Nick Denton of Gawker.com stated, “It’s newsworthy, and we will not be removing it.”^[11]

Users of the English speaking imageboards 711chan.org and 4chan, the associated partyvan.info wiki, and several Internet Relay Chat channels (collectively known as “Anonymous”) formulated “Project Chanology” on January 16, 2008, after the Church of Scientology issued a copyright violation claim against YouTube for hosting material from the Cruise video.^{[12][13][14][15]} The effort against Scientology has also been referred to by group members as “Operation Chanology”.^[10] The “Project Chanology” website is set up in the form of a collaborative wiki.^[13] Andrea Seabrook of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered reported that “Anonymous” was previously known for “technologically sophisticated pranks” such as spamming chat rooms online, and “ordering dozens of pizzas for people they don’t like”.^[16] Ryan Singel of Wired appeared on a January 27, 2008 edition of the program, and told Seabrook that members of “Anonymous” were motivated not by the “controversial nature of Scientology itself,” but rather by “the tactics the Church of Scientology uses to control information about itself”.^[16]

Calling the action by the Church of Scientology a form of Internet censorship, members of Project Chanology organized a series of denial-of-service attacks against Scientology websites, prank calls, and black faxes to Scientology centers. They state that their main goal is “to enlighten the Church of Scientology (CoS) by any means necessary”.^[17]

I believe Scientology is a dangerous cult so I was ecstatic when a war against them was declared on YouTube:

Transcript via Liz and Laura.com:

Hello, Scientology. We are Anonymous.

Over the years, we have been watching you. Your campaigns of misinformation; suppression of dissent; your litigious nature, all of these things have caught our eye. With the leakage of your latest propaganda video into mainstream circulation, the extent of your malign influence over those who trust you, who call you leader, has been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided that your organization should be destroyed. For the good of your followers, for the good of mankind–for the laughs–we shall expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form. We acknowledge you as a serious opponent, and we are prepared for a long, long campaign. You will not prevail forever against the angry masses of the body politic. Your methods, hypocrisy, and the artlessness of your organization have sounded its death knell.

You cannot hide; we are everywhere.

We cannot die; we are forever. We’re getting bigger every day–and solely by the force of our ideas, malicious and hostile as they often are. If you want another name for your opponent, then call us Legion, for we are many.

Yet for all that we are not as monstrous as you are; still our methods are a parallel to your own. Doubtless you will use the Anon’s actions as an example of the persecution you have so long warned your followers would come; this is acceptable. In fact, it is encouraged. We are your SPs.

Gradually as we merge our pulse with that of your “Church”, the suppression of your followers will become increasingly difficult to maintain. Believers will wake, and see that salvation has no price. They will know that the stress, the frustration that they feel is not something that may be blamed upon Anonymous. No–they will see that it stems from a source far closer to each. Yes, we are SPs. But the sum of suppression we could ever muster is eclipsed by that of the RTC.

Knowledge is free.

We are Anonymous.

We are Legion.

We do not forgive.

WE DO NOT FORGET.

Expect us.

The second video was weak, but the third (posted about 24 hours ago on January 27, 2008) is awesome:

Transcript from YouTube About This Video:

It has come to the attention of Anonymous that there are a number of you out there who do not clearly understand what we are or why we have undertaken our present course of action. Contrary to the assumptions of the media, Anonymous is not simply “a group of super hackers”. Anonymous is a collective of individuals united by an awareness that someone must do the right thing, that someone must bring light to the darkness, that someone must open the eyes of a public that has slumbered for far too long. Among our numbers you will find individuals from all walks of life – lawyers, parents, IT professionals, members of law enforcement, college students, veterinary technicians and more. Anonymous is everyone and everywhere. We have no leaders, no single entity directing us – only the collective outrage of individuals, guiding our hand in the current efforts to bring awareness.We want you to be aware of the very real dangers of Scientology. We want you to know about the gross human rights violations committed by this cult. We want you to know about Lisa McPhearson. We want you to know about former members of Scientology’s private navy, SeaOrg, who were forced to have abortions so that they could continue in service to the church. We want you to know about Scientology’s use of child labor and their gulags. We want you to know about Operation Freakout and Paulette Cooper. We want you to know about Operation Snow White and Scientology’s efforts to infiltrate the government of the United States of America.We want you to know about all of these things that have been swept under the rug for far too long. The information is out there. It is yours for the taking. Arm yourself with knowledge. Be very wary of the 10th of February. Anonymous invites you to join us in an act of solidarity. Anonymous invites you to take up the banner of free speech, of human rights, of family and freedom. Join us in protest outside of Scientology centers world wide. We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. We will be heard. Expect us.

My favorite part is the very end, “Be very wary of the 10th of February. Anonymous invites you to join us in an act of solidarity. Anonymous invites you to take up the banner of free speech, of human rights, of family and freedom. Join us in protest outside of Scientology centers world wide. We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. We will be heard. Expect us.” I am hesitantly looking foreword to exercising my right of free speech. I’m within walking distance of Scien Central.

Tags: Anonymous, hackers, Project Chanology, Scientology, Tom Cruise