Project Chanology

Project Chanology

Part of a series on Anonymous. [View Related Entries]

Updated Mar 23, 2017 at 12:39AM EDT by Don.

Added Aug 14, 2011 at 12:39AM EDT by Efraín.

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Overview

Project Chanology is a series of protest movements launched against the practices of the Church of Scientology by members of Anonymous. The project was started in response to the Church of Scientology's attempts to remove video clips from a highly publicized interview with Scientologist Tom Cruise from the Internet in January 2008.[1]

Background

On January 14th, 2008, a video produced by the Church of Scientology featuring an interview with Tom Cruise was posted on YouTube. In the video, Cruise makes various statements including saying that Scientologists are the only people who can help after a car accident,and that Scientologists are the authority on getting addicts off drugs. According to news reports, the video featured Cruise "extolling the virtues of Scientology".[2]



Notable Developments

Formation

Project Chanology was formulated by users of the English-speaking image boards 711chan and 4chan, in addition to several other websites. The members all considered themselves part of Anonymous , on January 16th, 2008 after the Church of Scientology issued a copyright violation claim against YouTube for hosting material from the Cruise video. The project was publicly launched via a video uploaded to YouTube on January 21st, 2008 entitled "Message to Scientology" on the channel Project Chanology.[13] The video states that Anonymous views Scientology's DMCA action as Internet censorship, asserting the group's intent to "expel the church from the Internet."



On January 26th, the Church responded to the pressure from Anonymous to CNET[9], stating that the removed video featured "selective and out-of-context excerpts with the intent of creating both controversy and ridicule." The next day, a second video entitled "Call to Action" was uploaded by Anonymous members, calling for protests outside of Church of Scientology centers on February 10th, 2008.



February 10th, 2008: First Wave of Protests

On the scheduled date, over 7000 Anonymous members from 100 cities across the globe came together in protest in front of Scientology churches. These protests marked the first time Anonymous organized an action that took place off the internet.[3] Many news outlets covered the protests including the Boston Globe[4], the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[5], Scotland's the Scotsman[6], Australia's News.com.au[7] and the Tampa Tribune.[8]

During the protests, Anonymous members chose to constantly record their actions to both protect themselves from legal backlash, but also to have more control over how the protests were presented in the media: something that has persisted in later protests[10], especially Occupy Wall Street

March 15th, 2008: Second Wave of Protests

After the success of the first protests, Anonymous organized another set to take place on March 15th, L. Ron Hubbard's birthday. Also referred to as The Ides of March[11], these protests drew another 7000 Anonymous members together across the globe.[12]

October 2013: Craigslist Ads

Since as early as February 2010, Scientology members have been posting classified ads on Craigslist to secretly recruit new members.[14] for recruitment of new members, the majority of them planted under the pretext of a group therapy session for people seeking spiritual guidance.[14] By December that year, the true color of the ads had been exposed by Operation Clambake[16] forum member RadioPaul, who managed to connect the dots between the ads on Craigslist and other local classified sites. In August 2012, a discussion thread dedicated to finding and reporting these sneaky ads (shown below) was created on the Anonymous message board Why We Protest[15] as part of an anti-Scientology project known as ClearCraig.


Come to a group where people care about each other (Philadelphia) We are a non-profit organization. We do different self improvement and life improvement activities here; things like classes for improving self-confidence, overcoming anxiety, improving relationships, etc. We also hold workshops and seminars from time to time. One thing I really like about our group is that people here really care about each other. I really LIKE the people here. So, if you come to this group, you will meet really nice people, have wonderful conversations and all of TO00 o 1049 11/9-11/23: Get Rid of Depression Class (Philadelphia) Do you think you have depression? Do you have painful experiences in the past which are still affecting you mentally? Do you find it hard to relax or carry tension on your back? Does your job constantly give you pressure or negative feelings? Negative emotions can affect your health and your mind. It can affect your job performance, your relationship, and how you feel about yourself. Depression/stress/anxiety classes are available here. We are a non-profit organization. Classes are usually 2 weeks long and the cost for the whole thing is only about $50. Free consultations and free appointments are available. Evening classes are available. To talk to a live person right away, just call Chris at (609) 504-1049. We'll help you get started to regain your happiness and joy in life. Call Chris at (609) 504-1049 if you are interested

Throughout November 2012, posters continued to use the thread to share links to Scientology messages on their local Craigslist sites so other users could help flag the posts as spam. However, Scientology's propaganda campaign remained under the radar until September 22nd, 2013, when Scientology blogger Tony Ortega[17] leaked several pages from a local Scientology chapter’s guide to writing such advertisements on his blog. That same day, Ortega’s blog post was linked to the forum thread on Why We Protest, breathing new life into the counter-propaganda initiative. In less than two weeks, the thread went on to generate more than 520 responses from other forum members, most of whom volunteered to support the ClearCraig campaign by sharing a list of relevant key words and phone numbers associated with Scientology's classified ads, while others contributed by drafting counter advertisements (shown below) to raise awareness of the Scientology propaganda on Craigslist. A Why We Protest user emailed a tip about the thread to Business Insider[19], who posted an article about these counter ads on October 1st, 2013. The same day, similar stories were featured on The Daily Dot.[20] Over the following days, additional stories appeared on ZDNet[21], Salon[22], Softpedia[23] and Betabeat.[24]


Are you a truth seeker at heart? = SCIENTOLOGY Do you know that this ad is ONE OF over 100 ads currently posted by Scientology on this board? These ads promise to resolve all of your problems, whether they be: depression, stress, anxiety, relationships, divorced, self esteem, fears, etc.....but they never identify who they are, or what their professional credentials are What you need to know is this these ads are posted by Scientology people who lack any professional credentials for counseling. They seem to be ashamed phone numbers: (713) 974-6299. Their address is: 2727 Fondren Road Houston, TX 77063 If the name Scientology sounds familiar, they've been receiving extensive press coverage for their illegal activities and shameful practices. Leah Remini, a celebrity actress, is one of many individuals who have chosen to leave Scientology and face their brutal disconnection policy. If you leave, everyone you know who's still in Scientology is told to NEVER SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN! For more information about this "church", Please google "Scientology and Steve Hassan" or go to his vimeo website entitled freedomofmind,.Steven A Hassan on Vimeo. Steve Hassan is a qualified credentialed counselor who has extensive experience in dealing with Scientology and other similar cults. Other good information about Scientology can be found by Googling Lisa McPherson', Tony Ortega', Jenna Miscavige Hill', and Lawrence Wrights book Going Clear Please search for number 713-974-6299 and 916-519-5287 on CL and Flag these ads as SPAM. it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests lag prohibited spam best of Posted: 2013-09-24, 11:39AM PDT How to Rid Your Body of Invisible Dead Alien Spirits Course (san rafael) TO RID YOUR BODY of the hundreds of invisible dead alien spirits that are clinging to it, you need to take the initiative. Success requires personal motivation. So why are we covered in clingy dead alien spirits? And why are they always invisible? Why do we occasionally have bad things happen, which are actually the fault of these clingy, invisible, dead, alien spirits? The How to Rid Your Body of Invisible Dead Alien Spirits Course answers these questions. It shows you how to overcome these clingy nuisances so that you can accomplish something It provides the know-how to make detection and exorcism of invisible dead alien spirits simpler and more desirable, so your motivation grows. In How to Rid Your Body of Invisible Dead Alien Spirits Course you will learn How to locate said invisible dead alien spirits How to make their detection simpler with our help, so your wallet shrinks An exercise that will help you to become better at absorbing cultish jargon How to take a free stress test How this is really all Xenu's fault. Call Dana at (800) 801-39444 to learn more. We are a "non-profit) group that offers personal indoctrination courses, seminars and unlicensed counseling

Search Interest

External References

[1] Wikipedia – Project Chanology

[2] Fox News – Hackers Declare War on Scientology

[3] Jeff Jacobsen – We Are Legion: Anonymous and the War on Scientology

[4] The Boston Globe – Dozens of masked protesters blast Scientology church

[5] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Masked protesters target Scientology's 'tactics'

[6] Scotsman – Masked protesters hike up pressure on Scientologists

[7] News.com.au – Scientology protests start across Australia

[8] Tampa Bay Online – Organizers Tout Scientology Protest, Plan Another]

[9] CNET – Church of Scientology responds to Internet attacks

[10] Ray Vichot – Anonymous/Project Chanology

[11] Encyclopedia Dramatica – Project Chanology / Ides of March

[12] Chanology Wiki – March 15 Raid

[13] YouTube – Project Chanology's Channel

[14] CBS News – Scientology Uses "Secret" CraigsList Ads to Recruit New Members

[15] Why We Protest – Taking down Co$ on Craigslist/ Co$ ads on CraigsList

[16] Operation Clambake – Co$ being run off Craigslist but hitting classifieds

[17] Tony Ortega on Scientology – The Scientology Guide to Craigslist

[18] Bugzilla – Craigslist Hat Write-up

[19] Business Insider – The Latest Clash Between Anonymous And Scientology Is Happening On Craigslist Right Now

[20] The Daily Dot – Anonymous and Scientology are at war again--on Craigslist

[21] ZDNet – SF, US Craigslist awash in fallacious Scientology depression counseling ads

[22] Salon – Anonymous vs. Scientology

[23] Softpedia – Anonymous Targets Scientology for Using Craigslist to Recruit Members

[24] Betabeat – Anonymous Reportedly Now Trolling Scientology Via Craigslist

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Top Comments

Brad
Brad

KYM episode on Anonymous covers Project Chanology in details. I definitely approve this entry as an event!

Our current entry for Anonymous was originally titled "Project Chanology / Anonymous" but there wasn't much info there, so I expanded it into a subculture entry.

+4

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