Scientology has a reputation for hostile action toward anyone who criticizes it in a public forum; executives within the organization have proclaimed Scientology is "not a
turn-the-other-cheek religion". Journalists, politicians, former Scientologists and various anti-
cult groups have made accusations of wrongdoing against Scientology since the 1960s, and Scientology has targeted these critics—almost without exception—for retaliation, in the form of lawsuits and public counter-accusations of personal wrongdoing. Many of Scientology's critics have also reported they were subjected to threats and harassment in their private lives. The organization's actions reflect a formal policy for dealing with criticism instituted by
L. Ron Hubbard, called "attack the attacker". Hubbard codified this policy in the latter half of the 1960s in response to government investigations into the organization. In 1966, Hubbard wrote a criticism of the organization's behavior and noted the "correct procedure" for attacking enemies of Scientology:
Litigation against critics In the past, many critics of Scientology have claimed they were harassed by
frivolous and
vexatious lawsuits, including journalists
Paulette Cooper and
Richard Behar; free-speech advocates
Karin Spaink,
David S. Touretzky,
Keith Henson and
Grady Ward; and former Scientology members
Cyril Vosper,
Lawrence Wollersheim,
Jon Atack,
Gerry Armstrong,
Steven Fishman,
Dennis Erlich,
Arnie Lerma, and
Bonnie Woods.
Paulette Cooper was falsely accused of felony charges as she had been framed by the Church of Scientology's
Guardian's Office. Furthermore, her personal life had been intruded upon by Scientologists who had attempted to kill her and/or draw her to suicide in a covert plan known as
Operation Freakout brought to light after FBI investigations into other matters (See
Operation Snow White). A prominent example of litigation of its critics is the Church of Scientology's $416 million
libel lawsuit
s:Church of Scientology v. Behar against
Time Warner as a result of their publication of a highly critical magazine article "
The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" by
Richard Behar. A public campaign by the Church of Scientology accordingly ensued in an attempt to defame this Time Magazine publication. (See
Church of Scientology's response) Gareth Alan Cales was harassed by the Church of Scientology, including false charges against him and his friends. Similarly, the Church of Scientology's legal battle with
Gerry Armstrong in
Church of Scientology v. Gerald Armstrong spanned two decades and involved a $10 million claim against Armstrong.
Scientology and Me In 2007 a
BBC documentary on Scientology by reporter
John Sweeney came under scrutiny by Scientologists. Sweeney alleged "While making our BBC
Panorama film
Scientology and Me I have been shouted at, spied on, had my hotel invaded at midnight, denounced as a 'bigot' by star Scientologists, brain-washed—that is how it felt to me—in a mock up of a
Nazi-style torture chamber and chased round the streets of Los Angeles by sinister strangers". This resulted in a video being distributed by Scientologists of a shouting match between Sweeney and Scientology spokesman
Tommy Davis. The Church has reportedly released a DVD accusing the BBC of organising a demonstration outside a Scientology office in London, during which "terrorist death threats" were made against Scientologists. The BBC described the allegations as "clearly laughable and utter nonsense". Sandy Smith, the BBC programme's producer, commented the Church of Scientology has "no way of dealing with any kind of criticism at all". Scientology critics argue only the term but not the practice was removed. To support this contention, they refer to "HCO Policy Letter of October 21, 1968" which says, "The practice of declaring people FAIR GAME will cease. FAIR GAME may not appear on any Ethics Order. It causes bad public relations. This P/L does not cancel any policy on the treatment or handling of a
SP." According to a book by Omar Garrison, HCOPL March 7, 1969, was created under pressure from the government of New Zealand. Garrison quotes from the HCOPL, "We are going in the direction of mild ethics and involvement with the Society". Garrison then states, "It was partly on the basis of these policy reforms that the New Zealand Commission of Inquiry recommended that no legislative action be taken against Scientology". The source of Omar Garrison for this is most likely the
Dumbleton-Powles Report, additional data and quotations are found in this report. In 1977, top officials of Scientology's "Guardian's Office", an internal security force run by Hubbard's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, admitted that fair game was policy in the GO. (
U.S. v. Kember, Budlong Sentencing Memorandum – Undated, 1981). In separate cases in 1979 and 1984, attorneys for Scientology argued the Fair Game policy was in fact a core belief of Scientology and as such deserved protection as religious expression.
Dead agenting Dead agenting means to provide negative information or propaganda about an enemy or critic. A
dead agent pack or
package is a compilation of documents designed to defame or ruin the reputation of an opponent. It is used to discredit someone who has spoken out against Scientology, or is held as "
insurance" to deter someone from speaking out. In the 1970s, Hubbard continued to codify the policy of "attacking the attacker" and assigned a term to be used frequently within Scientology: "dead agenting". Used as a
verb, "dead agenting" is described by Hubbard as a technique for countering negative accusations against Scientology by diverting the critical statements and making counter-accusations against the accuser; in other words, to "attack the attacker". Hubbard defined the PR (public relations) policy on "dead agenting" in a 1974 bulletin: The phrase comes from a misunderstanding of the chapter on espionage in
The Art of War. The now-defunct Scientology-sponsored website
Religious Freedom Watch was often cited by
alt.religion.scientology users as a contemporary example of "dead agenting". It contained false discreditable information about critics of the Church. According to the
New York Press, the website was "almost universally regarded as a
Scientology front group designed to attack the Church's critics." After one person pressured NYP to check the website for information on a particular person, NYP was unable to verify the information with any credible source. Dead agenting has also been carried out by flier campaigns against some critics—using so-called "DA fliers".
Bonnie Woods, an ex-member who began counseling people involved with Scientology and their families, became a target along with her husband in 1993 when the Church of Scientology started a leaflet operation denouncing her as a "hate campaigner" with demonstrators outside their home and around
East Grinstead. After a long battle of libel suits, in 1999, the Church agreed to issue an apology and to pay £55,000 damages and £100,000 in
legal costs to the Woods.
R2-45 "R2-45" is the name given by
L. Ron Hubbard to what he described as "an enormously effective process for exteriorization but its use is frowned upon by this society at this time". In Scientology doctrine,
exteriorization refers to the separation of the
thetan (soul) from the body. According to the author Stewart Lamont, Hubbard defined R2-45 as a process by which exteriorization could be produced by shooting a person in the head with a .45 revolver. While no "R2-45 letters" have been published, orders to use R2-45 on specific individuals were published in a monthly magazine for Scientologists. On March 6, 1968, Hubbard issued an internal memo titled "RACKET EXPOSED", in which he denounced twelve people as "Enemies of mankind, the planet and all life", and ordered that "Any
Sea Org member contacting any of them is to use Auditing Process R2-45." The memo was subsequently reproduced, with another name added, in the Church of Scientology's monthly journal,
The Auditor. Another four people were named in a second R2-45 order published in
The Auditor later in 1968. ==Criminal convictions of executives==