Controversy surrounds the Church of Scientology with its stance on prescription drugs and statements from celebrities who are Scientologists, but a group that calls itself Anonymous is waging an online war against the religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard.
A computer hacker group calling itself Anonymous started to wage a war on the Internet against the Church of Scientology, which includes making prank phone calls, using software to limit access to Church of Scientology websites, and posting documents that the church considers proprietary, according to Wired's Threat Level column of January 23, 2008.
What Prompted the Anonymous War
Early in 2008, the “Tom Cruise: Scientologist” video appeared on a number of Internet sites and was subsequently pulled under threats of litigation. Gawker.com, however, made the video available to the general public and refused to pull it because it was newsworthy. It was this act that launched this group of computer hackers in their campaign against the perceived censorship of this controversial Church of Scientology.
Anonymous, which has a history of pulling pranks that can sometimes disrupt individual lives, has taken this sudden change and declared war on Scientology because of free speech abuses, misuse of copyright laws, alleged human rights abuses, extortion, and fraud, according to Anonymous's War on Scientology press release.
Anonymous Attacks on Epileptic Weapons Boards
On Easter Weekend, the message board for the National Epileptics Foundation was attacked by people posting flashing images that caused some users to have seizures. Anonymous denied responsibility for the attack on the National Eptileptic Foundation's message boards and blamed the Church of Scientology. The habits of the computer hacker group prior to the attack on the Epileptic Foundation's message board make it likely that they are responsible for the attack, although it could be someone trying to imitate Anonymous's tactics.
The people who post at 711chan.org and other websites have a history of pulling childish pranks, including causing a Fox affiliate to run a story claiming that Anonymous uses exploding vans as part of its arsenal. The claims of the Church of Scientology are less likely as the Church of Scientology is fond of litigation and would be more likely to pursue legal action against the group.
Anonymous's War: A Waste of Time?
Because the press release by the gang of computer hackers says that some of the members are waging the war for their own amusement, any high crusade Anonymous might have had in mind against the Church of Scientology's attempts at censorship fails. Even if the Church of Scientology used unethical tactics to have the Tom Cruise video pulled from the Internet, it does not justify an unethical response.
Resources:
Scientology's Operating Thetans
Scientology's Lord Xenu Doctrine
Anonymous's War on Scientology Press Release
“War Breaks Out Between Hackers and Scientology – There can be Only One.” Ryan Singel Wired. January 23, 2008
“Hackers Attack Epilepsy Forum; cause Headaches, Seziures.” Michael Santo. IndependentTech. March 29, 2008.
