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But it was two recent events that propelled the members of Anonymous to act. Sources told ABCNEWS.com that they were initially intrigued by the publication of Andrew Morton’s biography of Tom Cruise, which was highly critical of Scientology. That drew them to the Internet for more information where they came across the leak of several church videos on YouTube featuring Cruise’s wildly enthusiastic praise of Scientology.

After an embarrassing string of high-profile defection and leaked videos, Scientology is under attack from a faceless cabal of online activists. Has America’s most controversial religion finally met its match?
Clearwater is prepared for its enemies. It’s a warm, if overcast, Saturday in February, but all the storefronts lining the sidewalks of this sleepy town on […]

Last month more than 7,000 Anonymous recruits picketed Scientology bases in 93 cities including London, Manchester and New York.

They were on the streets again yesterday, protesting outside recruitment centres around the world.

On Saturday, March 15, the surprisingly upstart, leaderless movement known as “Anonymous” will be holding its second worldwide anti-Scientology protests at Hubbard sites in more than a dozen countries.

The grassroots, Internet-based group seemed to materialize out of thin air just a few weeks ago, and it’s difficult to tell whether the surprising success of its February 10 rallies - which were held from Oslo to Sydney - will spark even more rallies beyond this weekend. The February protests featured a lot of twentysomethings, for the most part, carrying anti-Scientology signs, and wearing masks to protect their anonymity (Guy Fawkes masks were popular) in places like New York, Boston, London, and Toronto. This time, they say, they’re bringing cake and candles.

The church has been accused of being directly responsible for the financial ruin of some of its most fervently faithful, but Danos said getting started in Scientology is “extremely inexpensive.”

“You can go in and do something for 30 bucks,” she said. “The first book is 10 bucks.”

Woodcraft, though, warns that things get exponentially pricier once you reach the religion’s highest echelons, or if you try to quit.

“If you leave,” she said, “they send a bill for everything you’ve done.”

Woodcraft’s, which she still has a copy of, was $89,000. Modest compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars she said some people end up dropping just to rise up the ranks.

I was skimming through High Winds when I came across an article winningly headlined ‘Handling Suppression on the Fourth Dynamic’ (by then I had learnt that the ‘fourth dynamic’ meant the whole of mankind). In a tone of unforgiving militancy, it talked of ‘eradicating SPs’, and crowed about how they had ’shut down’ one particular defector who had criticised the movement. ‘Unemployed and abandoned by his family, this squirrel had schemed to make money by hawking his lies in a book. But the Office of Special Affairs had a court declare his book libellous. He has now been forced into bankruptcy…’

Masked demonstrators gathered outside London’s Church of Scientology in protest against the organisation.

The group, called Anonymous, said they wanted to highlight the organisation’s “inherent flaws” and “fight for freedom of knowledge and information”.

Anonymous, the new foe of Scientology, stepped out from the shadows of the Internet on Sunday with protests in Clearwater and around the world.

Some 200 marchers, mostly young people wearing sunglasses, hats and sometimes masks, met in downtown Clearwater to shout down Scientology at the church’s spiritual headquarters.

Protestors turned out in force yesterday to demonstrate at the Church of Scientology’s headquarters in London.

The demonstration - by a group of web users working under the name ‘Anonymous’ - was one of many which have been taking place across Europe, America and Australia.

‘Anonymous’ - which declared “war” on the organisation last month - claim to have staged demonstrations in almost 100 cities over the last 24 hours.

Despite frigid weather, 40 to 50 people - many concealing their identities with plastic masks, wigs and sunglasses - gathered in the South Side across from the Church of Scientology’s small Pittsburgh office yesterday afternoon, just as similar protests against the controversial religious movement were taking place in cities across the globe.