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Project Chanology is a protest against the Church of Scientology by the Internet-based group Anonymous. Project Chanology also refers to a website of the same name, used by the group to chronicle ongoing and planned actions by Anonymous, who state they are "everyone and everywhere", with "no leaders". The project was started in response to the Church of Scientology's attempts to remove material from an exclusive promotional interview with Scientologist Tom Cruise from the Internet in January 2008.
The project was publicly launched in the form of a video posted to YouTube, "Message to Scientology", on January 21, 2008. The video states that Anonymous views Scientology's actions as internet censorship, and stated the group's intent to "expel the church from the internet". This was followed by distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS attacks), and soon after, black faxes, prank calls, and other measures intended to disrupt the Church of Scientology's operations.
In February 2008, the focus of the protest shifted to legal methods, including nonviolent protests, and an attempt to get the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the Church of Scientology's tax exempt status in the United States.
Reactions from the Church of Scientology regarding the group's actions have varied. One spokesperson stated that members of the group "have got some wrong information" about Scientology. Another referred to the group as a "pathetic" group of "computer geeks". Some detractors of Scientology have criticized the actions of Project Chanology, asserting that they merely provide the Church of Scientology with the opportunity to "play the religious persecution card". Other critics of Project Chanology's actions questioned the legality of their methods.
Background
Tom Cruise video
Main article: Scientology and the Internet
On January 16, 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 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 The Times, Cruise can be seen in the video "extolling the virtues of Scientology". The Daily Telegraph characterizes Cruise as "manic-looking" during the interview, "gush about his love for Scientology".
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. YouTube removed the Cruise video from their site under threat of litigation. As of January 29, 2008, the web site Gawker.com was still hosting a copy of the Tom Cruise video, and other sites have posted the entire video. 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."
Formation
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. The effort against Scientology has also been referred to by group members as "Operation Chanology". The "Project Chanology" website is set up in the form of a collaborative Misplaced Pages-esque article and chronicles planned, ongoing and completed actions of the project's participants. The website includes a list of suggested guerrilla tactics to use against the Church of Scientology. Project Chanology members also use other websites to coordinate their actions, including the social networking site Facebook, where two groups related to the movement had 3,500 members as of February 4, 2008. A member of Anonymous told the Los Angeles Times that as of February 4, 2008, the group consisted of "a loose confederation of about 9,000 people" who post anonymously on the Internet. A security analyst told The Age that the number of individuals participating anonymously in Project Chanology could number in the thousands: "You can't pin it on a person or a group of people. You've thousands of people engaged to do anything they can against Scientology."
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". Their website states: "This will be a game of mental warfare. It will require our talkers, not our hackers. It will require our dedicated Anon across the world to do their part." One of the stated goals of Project Chanology is the complete removal of the Church of Scientology's presence on the Internet, and another is to "save people from Scientology by reversing the brainwashing". Project Chanology participants plan to join the Church of Scientology posing as interested members in order to infiltrate the organization.
The Church of Scientology has a history of conflict with groups on the Internet. In 1995, attorneys for the Church of Scientology attempted to get the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology (a.r.s.) removed from Usenet. This attempt backfired and generated a significant amount of press for a.r.s. The conflict with a.r.s led the hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow to declare war on the Church of Scientology. The Church of Scientology mounted a 10-year legal campaign against Dutch writer Karin Spaink and several internet service providers after Spaink and others posted documents alleged to be secretive teachings of the organization. The Church of Scientology's efforts ended in a legal defeat in a Netherlands court in 2005. This series of events is often referred to as "Scientology versus the Internet".
Andrea Seabrook of National Public Radio's All Things Considered said 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". 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". Anonymous has also been described as "a disparate collection of hackers and activists" by The Times and "a group of vigilantes" by CNET news.
Project Chanology activities
Internet actions
The group was successful in taking down a Scientology website on January 18, 2008. Local Church of Scientology chapter sites were also affected. The group had early success rendering major Scientology websites inaccessible and leaking documents stolen from Scientology computers which resulted in a large amount of coverage on Social bookmarking websites. Speaking to Sky News, the chief executive of Internet security firm 7safe.com said that it was possible that the group used a denial-of-service attack in order to take down the Scientology website.
According to Jose Nazario, security engineer with the company Arbor Networks, the denial-of-service attacks on Scientology.org flooded the site with 220 megabits of traffic, falling into what he considered to be a mid-range attack. The attacks each lasted an average of thirty minutes and used 168 megabits of bandwidth. Arbor Networks has recorded data on attacks to other sites in the last year which were 200 times this amount. Nazario stated that there were 448 denial-of-service events on January 19, 2008, prior to the Church of Scientology's move to Prolexic Technologies. These attacks averaged 15,000 packets per second. Nazario described this as "common, garden-variety DDoS attacks". Speaking with SCMagazineUS.com, a security strategist for Top Layer Networks, Ken Pappas said that he thought that botnets were involved in the Anonymous operation: "There are circles out there where you could take ownership of the bot machines that are already owned and launch a simultaneous attack against like the church from 50,000 PCs, all at the same time".
On January 21, 2008 Anonymous announced its goals and intentions via a video posted to YouTube entitled "Message to Scientology", and a press release declaring a "War on Scientology" against both the Church of Scientology and the Religious Technology Center. In the press release, the group states that the attacks against the Church of Scientology will continue in order to protect the right to freedom of speech, and end what they believe to be the financial exploitation of church members.
The Tom Cruise video is specifically named at the beginning of the Anonymous YouTube posting, and is referred to as a "propaganda video". The video utilizes a synthesized voice and shows cloud images with a time lapse method, while the speaker addresses the leaders of Scientology directly: "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." The video goes on to state "We shall proceed to expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the church of Scientology in its present form ... We are anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us." By January 25, 2008 only four days after its release, the video had been viewed 800,000 times, and by February 8, 2008 had been viewed over 2 million times. Author Warren Ellis called the video "creepy in and of itself" and a "manifesto, declaration of war, sharp political film".
In response to the attacks, the Church of Scientology moved its domain to a more protected location. On January 21, 2008 Scientology.org was moved to a company which specializes in protecting other web sites from denial-of-service attacks, called Prolexic Technologies. A Prolexic spokesman confirmed to PC World that the Church of Scientology was one of its clients, but did not explain further, and the Church of Scientology did not return a phone call or e-mail from PC World. Attacks against the site increased, and CNET News reported that "a major assault" took place at 6 p.m. EST on January 24, 2008. Anonymous escalated their attacks against Scientology on January 25, 2008. As of January 25, 2008, the Church of Scientology's official website was still inaccessible.
In a different video posted to YouTube, Anonymous speaks to the news organizations covering the conflict, and criticizes the media's reporting of the incident. In the video, Anonymous criticizes the media for not mentioning objections the group had raised to certain controversial aspects of the history of the Church of Scientology, and cited past incidents including the death of Lisa McPherson: "We find it interesting that you did not mention the other objections in your news reporting. The stifling and punishment of dissent within the totalitarian organization of Scientology. The numerous, alleged human rights violations. Such as the treatment and events that led to the deaths of victims of the cult such as Lisa McPherson." Lisa McPherson was a Scientologist who died in 1995 under controversial circumstances and the Church of Scientology was initially held responsible and faced felony charges. These charges were later dropped, and a civil suit brought by McPherson's family was settled in 2004. This second video was taken down on January 25, 2008, with YouTube citing a "terms of use violation". Organizers of February 10, 2008 protests against the Church of Scientology by members of Project Chanology told the St. Petersburg Times that the event is well-timed because it will take place on the birthday of Lisa McPherson.
In a February 4, 2008 article, Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw told the Los Angeles Times that the Church of Scientology's websites "have been and are online". Danny McPherson, chief research officer at Arbor Networks, stated that 500 denial-of-service attacks had been observed on the Scientology site in the week prior to February 4 some of which were strong enough to take down the website. Calling Anonymous a "motley crew of internet troublemakers", a Wired blogger said that, while attempting to bypass the Church of Scientology's Prolexic servers, users of a misconfigured DDoS tool inadvertently and briefly struck Etty Hillesum Lyceum, a Dutch secondary school in Deventer. Another hacking group related to the project, the "g00ns", erroneously targeted a 59-year-old man from Stockton, California. They had posted his home phone number, address and his wife's Social Security Number online in order for people to target them. They believed that he was behind the counter-attacks against Project Chanology-related websites by the Regime, a counter-hack group who had hacked one of the planning facilities of the Project Chanology attack. The group was attempting to gain personal information of the people involved in Project Chanology and turn that information over to the Church of Scientology. After discovering that they had falsely targeted the couple, one of the members called and apologized.
In addition to the DDoS attacks against Church of Scientology websites, Anonymous also organized a campaign on one of their websites to "begin bumping Digg," referring to an attempt to drive up Scientology-related links on the website Digg.com. On January 25, 2008, eight of the top ten stories on Digg.com were related to either Scientology related controversies or Anonymous and the attempt to expose Scientology. Digg CEO Jay Adelson told PC World that Anonymous had in fact not manipulated the site's algorithm system, but instead stated "They must have done a very good job of bringing in a diverse set of interests ... It just happened to hit a nerve that the Digg community was interested in." Adelson stated that two other instances which similarly dominated the main page of Digg in the past have included the Virginia Tech Massacre during the aftermath of the incident, and the 2005 London bombings. Adelson commented on the popularity of Scientology to the Digg community: "In the history of Digg, there's no question that the topic of Scientology has been of great interest to the community ... I can't explain why."
On January 29, 2008, Jason Lee Miller of WebProNews reported that a Google bomb technique had been used to make the Scientology.org main website the first result in a Google search for "dangerous cult". Miller wrote that Anonymous was behind the Google bomb, and that they had also attempted to make Scientology the first result in Google searches for "brainwashing cult", and make the website Xenu.net the first result in a search for "scientology". Rob Garner of MediaPost Publications wrote that "The Church of Scientology continues to be the target of a group called Anonymous, which is using Google bombs and YouTube as its tools of choice."
Real-world protests
Planning
A new video "Call to Action" appeared on YouTube on January 28, 2008, calling for protests outside Church of Scientology centers on February 10, 2008. As with the previous videos, the two-minute video utilizes a computer synthesized voice and stock footage of the sky. The video is accompanied by a transcribed text version in British English spelling. This video attempts to debunk the idea that the group is composed of "super hackers," stating "Contrary to the assumptions of the media, Anonymous is not 'a group of super hackers.' ... Anonymous is everyone and everywhere. We have no leaders, no single entity directing us." The video states that Project Chanology participants include "individuals from all walks of life ... united by an awareness that someone must do the right thing". Specific controversies involving the Church of Scientology are cited in the video as an explanation for the actions of Anonymous.
In an email to CNET News, Anonymous stated that activities were planned for February 10, 2008 in New York City, Montreal, Canada, Houston, Texas, London, Melbourne, Australia, and Los Angeles, California. Other cities with planned protests for February 10, 2008 include Clearwater, Florida, Edinburgh, Scotland, Berlin, Germany, Paris, France, Stockholm, Sweden, Vancouver and Toronto, Canada and Sydney, Australia. Anonymous hope to use the "real world" protests to spur public opinion to their cause. According to the Associated Press, the protests are meant to draw attention to what the group refers to as a "vast moneymaking scheme under the guise of 'religion'". As of January 30, 2008, 170 protests were planned outside Church of Scientology centers worldwide. According to NBC11, a woman from Anonymous contacted them and stated that monthly protests are planned against Scientology each month through May 2008; and that a large protest is planned for two days after Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's birthday, on March 15, 2008. A video posted to YouTube called "Code of Conduct" outlined twenty-two rules to follow when protesting, and urged protestors to be peaceful.
Protests
On February 2, 2008, one hundred and fifty people gathered outside of a Church of Scientology center in Orlando, Florida to protest the organization's practices. Protestors carried signs with messages "Knowledge is Free" and "Honk if you hate Scientology". According to WKMG-TV, the protestors called the Church of Scientology a "dangerous cult" and said the organization is responsible for crimes and deaths. The Orlando Sentinel reported that the protest was "part of a worldwide campaign by a group that calls itself Anonymous," and an unnamed organizer who spoke to the paper stated that the group was protesting "a gross violation of the right to see free church material," referring to the Tom Cruise video that was pulled from YouTube. Another protest was held on the same day in Santa Barbara, California, during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Protestors at the demonstration wore masks, and stated they were attempting to inform the public about what they believed to be "restrictions of free speech and profiteering through pyramid schemes" by the Church of Scientology. They stated they were not protesting the doctrine of Scientology, but rather alleged actions of individual members. One protester stated that he had created a Facebook group to organize the protest, explaining "It started online with a group called Anonymous ... They got upset with Scientology because the church hides important documents that are supposed to be released to the public." A protest was also held February 2, 2008 in Manchester, England.
On the morning of February 10, 2008 about 7,000 people protested in more than 90 cities worldwide. One hundred and fifty people protested at the Church of Scientology building in Sydney, Australia, carrying signs and wearing costumes. Participants were masked to maintain their anonymity and avoid possible retaliation from the Church of Scientology. Protesters chanted "Church on the right, cult on the left" (in reference to the Church that was beside the Church of Scientology Org), "Religion is free" and "We want Xenu". Scientology staff locked down the building and set up a camera to record the event. Masked protestors in Seattle, United States congregated in front of the Church of Scientology of Washington State. Protestors were quoted as saying, "We believe in total freedom of belief. We have nothing against the people of Scientology, however the Church of Scientology has committed crimes. They're vehemently anti-opposition. Anyone who opposes them, must go down." Protesters turned out in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania despite unusally cold weather. The masked crowd consisted mainly of college students, including some who had travelled from as far as Penn State University. Other protests took place that day in Austin, Texas as well as elsewhere. Anonymous has stated the next protest will be on March 15. Template:Project Chanology protests, February 10 2008
Campaign against Scientology's tax-exempt status
A woman who stated she was a member of Anonymous told NBC11 that the group has shifted strategy to activities which fight Scientology but are not deemed illegal by the United States government, including an attempt to get the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the Church of Scientology's 501(c)3 tax-exempt status. Another woman from Anonymous told Newsweek that the group plans to accomplish this through a lobbying campaign. United States tax authorities removed the Church of Scientology's tax-exemption status in 1967, stating that the organization's auditing techniques served as a for-profit operation for L. Ron Hubbard. In 1984, the United States Tax Court ruled that the Church of Scientology was guilty of "manufacturing and falsifying records to present to the IRS, burglarizing IRS offices and stealing government documents, and subverting government processes for unlawful purposes." The Church of Scientology's tax-exempt status in the United States was reinstated in 1993. A member of Anonymous calling herself "Envie" told Today Tonight that the group has longer term plans against the Church of Scientology: "We are incredibly determined ... There are those of us who have been talking about plans for the next 12 to 18 months."
Church of Scientology's response
In a January 25, 2008 statement made to News.com.au, a spokesman for the Church of Scientology said, "These types of people have got some wrong information about us." A Toronto, Canada spokesperson for the Church of Scientology said she didn't "give a damn" if the group Anonymous was responsible for disrupting access to the Scientology site. Church spokeswoman Yvette Shank told Sun Media that she thought the Anonymous members were a "pathetic" group of "computer geeks". On January 26, 2008, CNET News reported that Karin Pouw, public affairs director for the Church of Scientology, did not address their specific request for a comment about the denial-of-service attacks but instead only responded to the appearance of the Tom Cruise video on YouTube. Pouw stated that the video consisted of "pirated and edited" excerpts of Cruise from a 2004 Scientology event, and that after the video appeared, there was increased traffic to Scientology sites as shown by top lists compiled by search engines. Pouw went on to state "Those wishing to find out the Church of Scientology's views and to gain context of the video have the right to search official Church Web sites if they so desire."
On January 28, 2008, Radar Online reported that the Church of Scientology asked the U.S. Attorney General's office in Los Angeles, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Los Angeles Police Department to start a criminal investigation of possible criminal activity related to the DDoS attacks. An unnamed source told Radar that the Church of Scientology argued to law enforcement that the Internet attacks are a form of "illegal interference with business." Radar also reported that in statements to law enforcement the Church of Scientology emphasized its status as a religious organization in the United States; in order to assert that the DDoS attacks can be classed as hate crimes. The day after the Church of Scientology complained to law enforcement about the DDoS attacks, one of the main Project Chanology sites was down, and a message on the site said that their site crashed due to attacks from Scientologists. In a statement issued to Wikinews, a Church of Scientology employee confirmed that actions of Anonymous had been reported to law enforcement: "Activities of Anonymous have been reported to the Authorities and actions are being taken. Their activities are illegal and we do not approve of them. At the same time, our main work is to improve the environment, make people more able and spiritually aware. ... yes, we are taking action."
The Church of Scientology issued a statement explaining the website move to Prolexic Technologies: "The attacks have defaced and rendered inoperable a number of CoS web sites. But as a very wealthy institution, the Church has fought back with technological answers. On January 21, the Church of Scientology moved its domain to Prolexic Technologies, a group that specializes in protecting Web sites from attacks by creating a safe tunnel by filtering all incoming mail and then allowing only clean messages through."
Lee Sheldon of the Church of Scientology of Orlando and Lee Holzinger of the Church of Scientology of Santa Barbara issued similar statements regarding the February 2, 2008 protests in Florida and California, respectively. Sheldon stated "we recognize the right to legal protest," and Holzinger said ""People have the right to express themselves ... The Church of Scientology has always defended the right of freedom of expression." Both representatives also expressed concerns regarding the spread of "hate speech".
The Church of Scientology released a statement regarding the February 10, 2008 worldwide protests, which was published February 7, 2008 in the St. Petersburg Times. In the statement, the Church of Scientology called the organizers of the protests "cyberterrorists", and stated: "We take this seriously because of the nature of the threats this group has made publicly. We will take every step necessary to protect our parishioners and staff as well as members of the community, in coordination with the local authorities." The statement also referred to the actions of members of Project Chanology as "hate crimes" and "religious bigotry". Pat Harney, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology in Clearwater, Florida told the St. Petersburg Times: "We are dealing with a worldwide threat ... This is not a light matter." In preparation for the February 10, 2008 protests outside Scientology's spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, the Church of Scientology spent USD$4,500 to hire ten off-duty police officers for security. Clearwater Police Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts stated that the off-duty police officers will make sure that protestors do not trespass on Scientology property or violate the law, but will report to police supervisors and not representatives of the Church of Scientology.
Reaction
Andreas Heldal-Lund, founder of the Scientology-critical website and non-profit organization Operation Clambake, released a statement criticizing the digital assault against Scientology. Heldal-Lund commented, "People should be able to have easy access to both sides and make up their own opinions. Freedom of speech means we need to allow all to speak - including those we strongly disagree with. I am of the opinion that the Church of Scientology is a criminal organisation and a cult which is designed by its delusional founder to abuse people. I am still committed to fight for their right to speak their opinion." He also stated that "Attacking Scientology like that will just make them play the religious persecution card ... They will use it to defend their own counter actions when they try to shatter criticism and crush critics without mercy."
Mark Bunker, a Scientology critic who runs the website XenuTV.com, posted a video to YouTube and asked Anonymous to tone down their campaign against the Church of Scientology. According to NPR's Morning Edition, Bunker has "become a revered voice to many members of Anonymous," and they refer to him as "Wise Beard Man". Bunker told Newsweek that he was concerned for the safety of participants in Project Chanology: "I know the way Scientology works: they're going to get these people in trouble ... I'm very concerned about their safety, and I'm concerned about the Scientologists' safety, too." Bunker stated that he has received 6,000 emails from individuals who say they are part of Anonymous.
Tory Christman, a critic of Scientology and former Scientologist from 1969 to 2000, stated she disapproved of illegal tactics but felt encouraged by the new influx of critics of Scientology. Christman told Morning Edition: "It feels like we've been out in this desert, fighting this group one-on-one by ourselves, and all of a sudden this huge army came up with not only tons of people, thousands of people, but better tools..." Scientology critic Arnaldo Lerma told the St. Petersburg Times he was impressed by a video of a protest against Scientology which took place in Orlando, Florida: "I've never seen anything like that before. This is incredible. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it on a Web cam."
In a February 4, 2008 appearance on the G4 television program Attack of the Show!, Mark Ebner, journalist and author of the book Hollywood, Interrupted, and Nick Douglas of Gawker.com commented on Project Chanology. Ebner stated that "Hacking their site is not really the best way to go about taking them down. Most critics you talk to want the Scientology site to be up there so that people who are interested can see the stupidity they have on the web and at the same time they can go - they are a few keystrokes from getting a thousand other opinions." Nick Douglas explained that the group decided to shift their strategy away from the attacks to Scientology websites: "Anonymous even decided that they were going to stop that attack, that it was a bad idea. It's the usual thing they used to do when they really hadn't had a thought out plan, and here they're realizing they actually have to figure out some real plan against a real enemy."
University of Alberta professor Stephen A. Kent weighed in on the issue, and said "I think these disruptions probably are illegal. At the very least, they’re forms of harassment ... We now have three parties involved. Anonymous, Scientology and law enforcement." Kent stated that "The hacker community has been angry at Scientology for (their) attempts to block free speech on the Internet." Reaction to the denial of service attack on the Church of Scientology websites was mixed in message board forums for PC World. Some readers praised the actions of Anonymous, while others commented that the DDoS attacks bring more attention to Scientology. The Economist likened the DDoS attacks used by Project Chanology to "cyberwarfare techniques normally associated with extortionists, spies and terrorists," and referred to Anonymous as "internet activists".
See also
- Hacktivism
- Scientology and the Internet
- Scientology and the legal system
- Scientology controversies
- Streisand effect
References
- L.A. takes part in Scientology protests, Los Angeles Times, February 11, 2008.
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{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Shanahan, Leo (February 7, 2008). "Hackers declare Scientology D-day". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Dingman, Shane (January 24, 2008). "Scientology under digital assault by web vigilantes". National Post. Canwest Publishing Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Nickson, Christopher (January 29, 2008). "Hackers Fight Scientology: A group of hackers going under the name Anonymous has declared an online war against the Church of Scientology". Digital Trends News. Digital Trends. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Ashwal, Dharmendra (AHN News Writer) (January 30, 2008). "Anonymous Hackers Attack Church Of Scientology Website". All Headline News. AHN Media Corp. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ O'Connell, Kelly (IBLS Editor) (January 30, 2008). "INTERNET LAW - Hackers Disable Scientology Website & Declare War". Internet Business Law Services. Internet Business Law Services, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}:|first=has generic name (help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Seabrook, Andrea (January 27, 2008). "Hackers Target Scientology Web Sites: Their problem isn't with the religion, they say, but their insistence on controlling information". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Vamosi, Robert (January 25, 2008). "Technical aspects of the DDoS attacks upon the Church of Scientology". CNET News. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Kaplan, Dan (January 25, 2008). "DDoS hack attack continues against Church of Scientology". SCMagazineUS.com. Haymarket Media. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Dodd, Gareth (Editor) (January 25, 2008). ""Anonymous" hackers vow to "dismantle" Scientology". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
{{cite news}}:|first=has generic name (help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - United Press International (January 25, 2008). "Hackers target Scientology". United Press International. UPI.com. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Perez, Jesse (January 28, 2008). "Video: Mysterious group threatens to destroy Church Of Scientology". LIVENEWS.com.au. Macquarie National News. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Abel, Jonathan (February 8, 2008). "New foe emerges against Scientology: The youth-oriented group has organized protests, including one in downtown Clearwater". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Ellis, Warren (2007-01-22). ""We are your SPs"". Warrenellis.com. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Singel, Ryan (January 25, 2008). "Anonymous Hackers Shoot For Scientologists, Hit Dutch School Kids". Wired. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Etty Hillesum Lyceum (November 12, 2007). "Etty Hillesum Lyceum in Deventer". Website's Main Page. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Singel, Ryan (2008-01-29). "Anonymous Hackers Track Saboteur, Find and Punish the Wrong Guy". Wired. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Associated Press (January 31, 2008). "Scientology Internet Hackers Plan Real-Life Protests at Church Locations: Hackers who launched a massive online attack against the Church of Scientology are now turning to real-world protests to draw attention to what they call a "vast moneymaking scheme under the guise of 'religion'"". FOX News. FOX News Network, LLC. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ McMillan, Robert (IDG News Service) (January 26, 2008). "Hackers Hit Scientology With Online Attack - UPDATE: Campaign accelerates from distributed denial-of-service attack to Digg bumps". PC World. IDG Network. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Miller, Jason Lee (January 29, 2008). "Scientology Bomb Cruises Past Google". WebProNews: Breaking eBusiness and Search News. iEntry, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Miller, Jason Lee (January 31, 2008). "Confirmed: Crusaders Google Bomb Scientology". WebProNews: Breaking eBusiness and Search News. iEntry, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Garner, Rob (January 30, 2008). "Google Bombing And SEM Is Evolving Into 'Search Engine Activism'". MediaPost Publications. MediaPost Communications. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Feran, Tom (January 31, 2008). "The group Anonymous calls for protests outside Scientology centers - New on the Net". The Plain Dealer. Newhouse Newspapers. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Vamosi, Robert (January 28, 2008). "Anonymous names February 10 as its day of action against Scientology". CNET News. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Staff (February 7, 2008). "Demo against Scientology". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Dumons, Olivier (February 1, 2008). "Guerre virtuelle et mobilisation réelle contre la Scientologie". Le Monde (in French). Groupe Le Monde. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - Chivers, Tom (February 5, 2008). "Bad publicity 'helps Scientology recruitment'". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Staff (January 31, 2008). "Fair game: An online onslaught against Scientology". The Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Edds, Kimberly (January 30, 2008). "UPDATE: Powder mailed to 19 Scientology centers: FBI investigating synchronized threats mailed to Southern California properties, including Tustin and Newport Beach locations". The Orange County Register. Freedom Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ NBC11 Staff (February 5, 2008). "Anonymous: 300,000 People To Protest Scientology Sunday". NBC11. KNTV. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Dahdah, Howard (February 8, 2008). "'Anonymous' group declares online war on Scientology: 'Anonymous' looks to YouTube as it ratchets up its protest against Scientologists". Computerworld: The Voice of IT Management. IDG Communications. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Staff (February 3, 2008). "Group Lines Road To Protest Church Of Scientology". WKMG-TV. Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Eckinger, Helen (February 3, 2008). "Anti-Scientology group has protest rally". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Standifer, Tom (February 4, 2008). "Masked Demonstrators Protest Against Church of Scientology". Daily Nexus. University of California, Santa Barbara. pp. Issue 69, Volume 88. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Eber, Hailey (February 4, 2008). "Anti-Scientologists Warm Up for February 10". Radar Online. Radar Magazine. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
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GestFeb11was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "Anti-Scientology Group Predicts Thousands Will Protest Churches". KNTV. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- Seymour, Brian (February 7, 2008). "The Anonymous war on Scientology: The Church of Scientology is already banned in several countries but now it is facing one of its biggest threats from a group called Anonymous". Today Tonight. Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Vamosi, Robert (January 26, 2008). "Church of Scientology responds to Internet attacks". CNET News. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Shah, Neel (January 28, 2008). "Radar Exclusive: Scientologists Bring in Fed Big Boys to Squash Internet Attacks". Radar Online. Radar Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Shah, Neel (January 29, 2008). "The Scientology Counterattack". Radar Online. Radar Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Staff (February 4, 2008). "Hackers wage web war on Scientologists". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Ashwal, Dharmendra (Celebrity News Service News Writer) (January 30, 2008). "Hackers Launch Cyber War Against Church Of Scientology". All Headline News. AHN Media Corp. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Times Staff (Released statement from Church of Scientology) (February 7, 2008). "Church of Scientology responds to protest plans: The organizers of the event are cyberterrorists, the church says". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Heldal-Lund, Andreas (January 22, 2008). "OC Press Release 22.01.2008: DDoS attacks on Scientology". Press Release. Operation Clambake. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Masters, Kim (February 7, 2008). "'Anonymous Wages Attack on Scientologists: The fight started when the Scientologists tried to get a video of Tom Cruise off the Internet". Morning Edition: Digital Culture. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ EMorton (February 4, 2008). "The Loop: Anonymous V. Scientology". Attack of the Show!. G4. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Parker, Kellie (January 31, 2008). "Of Web Site Attacks and High-Def Formats: What do Scientology and high-def movie formats have in common? Controversy, as readers prove in our forums". PC World. PC World Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)
External links
Template:Commons2 Template:Wikinewshas
- Project Chanology
- The Project Chanology wiki page that holds the bulk of Anonymous' plans and actions, Alternate link
- "Message to Scientology", "Anonymous", YouTube, January 21, 2008.
- Full transcript of "Message to Scientology" video, MSNBC, January 25, 2008
- "Call to Action", "Anonymous", YouTube, January 27, 2008.
- "Code of Conduct", "Anonymous", YouTube, February 1, 2008.
- Archive of 4chan thread discussing initial plans for Project Chanology
- Audio/video media
- NBC11 Staff (January 24, 2008). "Group Wants To Destroy Scientology, Video: 'We Do Not Forgive' - An anonymous group of hackers, fittingly known as "Anonymous," has declared war on the Church of Scientology". KNTV. NBC Universal, Inc.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (Video broadcast.) - Seymour, Brian (February 7, 2008). "The Anonymous war on Scientology: The Church of Scientology is already banned in several countries but now it is facing one of its biggest threats from a group called Anonymous". Today Tonight. Yahoo! News.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) (Video broadcast) - Seabrook, Andrea (January 27, 2008). "Hackers Target Scientology Web Sites". All Things Considered. NPR.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) (Radio broadcast) - Masters, Kim (February 7, 2008). "'Anonymous Wages Attack on Scientologists: The fight started when the Scientologists tried to get a video of Tom Cruise off the Internet". Morning Edition: Digital Culture. National Public Radio.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) (Radio broadcast)
| Scientology and the Internet | ||
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| Organizations, websites |  | |
| Software, terms | ||
| People | ||
| Litigation | ||