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The Church of Scientology has taken to the internet to refute damning accusations in a new HBO documentary

THE Church of Scientology has taken to the internet to refute damning accusations made by this man in his HBO documentary examining the religion.

MATTHEW DUNN
3 min read
March 24, 2015 - 1:38PM

AFTER winning an Academy Award for his controversial documentary about torture and interrogation techniques in US war on terror, Alex Gibney has a new target in his sights.

The American documentary maker has launched a full-forced attack on the Church of Scientology — the controversial religion developed by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.

And the Church is currently working overtime to discredit damning accusations made against the religion in Gibney’s upcoming HBO documentary.

The film,Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, is based on Lawrence Wright’s similarly titled book-length exposé and will premiere on March 29.

Since news emerged of the documentary, Scientologists have been trying to counter the film’s arguments which isn’t at all surprising considering Scientology’s notorious methods for dealing with its critics in the past.

The film, itself, covers one such stoush the Church had with the US Internal Revenue Service who was ready to rule that Scientology should pay tax because it isn’t a religion.

David Miscavige
David Miscavige

David Miscavige, the leader of the Church of Scientology, retaliated by persuading thousands of Scientologists to sue individual officials of the agency.

This unconventional method of bullying would be a success because, in 1993, the Church was deemed a religious organisation and was granted tax-exempt status by the IRS.

In an attempt to sway public opinion in the wake of the current scandal, the Church of Scientology wrote a five-page letter defending the claims by the film, which was published by the Hollywood Reporter.

“The letter attempts to rip apart Gibney’s sources in the film with ad hominem attacks, describing one as a wife beater, one as a violent psychopath and yet another as a home wrecker, but fails to tackle any major revelation in the film,” the website wrote.

Despite being extensive, the letter did little to counter widespread reviews of the film that presented the church unfavourably.

“Seeing is disbelieving: Watching this stuff, instead of merely reading about it, somehow makes Scientology both more ridiculous and more chilling,” wrote Vulture.

“Gibney carefully draws a contrast between the deranged Miscavige and his predecessor, who may very well have felt passionately about the potential for his religion to cure his own psychological ailments,” wrote Indiewire.

Knowing it needed a more proactive approach, the Church turned to Google advertising.

According the Daily Beast, the top Google search result for “Going Clear” was a paid advertisement from Scientology’s in-house magazine Freedom.

A quick google search by news.com.au showed the ad has since been bumped, but the website advertised is still very much active.

The website contains a number of videos, letters and links created with the sole purpose of refuting claims made in the film.

The main post of the page is a statement concerning Alex Gibney’s HBO documentary.

“The Church has documented evidence that those featured in Gibney’s film regurgitating their stale, discredited allegations are admitted perjurers, admitted liars and professional anti-Scientologists whose living depends on the filing of false claims,” they wrote.

“All have been gone so long from the Church they know nothing of it today.

“Yet Gibney and HBO stonewalled more than a dozen requests by the Church to offer relevant information about them, with more than 25 individuals with first-hand information eager to speak.”

In addition to the website, a Twitter account called “Freedom Media Ethics” was activated earlier this year in the wake of Going Clear’s Sundance premier.

The account contains Scientology-related imagery and provides a link to the Freedom website in its bio.

Since its creation, the account has launched a seething attack on Alex Gibney and HBO with prolific tweets linking back to the Freedom website.

The film director has said he isn’t surprised the Church has used the internet to contradict the online coverage of the documentary.

“Everyone in the church talks about how the internet has changed everything,” Alex Gibney told the Daily Beast.

“Back in the day, you could bury a story. There were some devastating stories that have come out over time, but you’d have to go to the stacks of the library to research it. Now it’s two clicks.”

With the film yet to be released, only time will tell if their counter campaign has been successful.

Actor Tom Cruise and David Miscavige will be celebrating if the tactics work.
Actor Tom Cruise and David Miscavige will be celebrating if the tactics work.

Originally published as The Church of Scientology has taken to the internet to refute damning accusations in a new HBO documentary

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Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/the-church-of-scientology-has-taken-to-the-internet-to-refute-damning-accusations-in-a-new-hbo-documentary/news-story/02aa6a4567e26f7f3b230d20eab34cbf