
David S. Touretzky, prominent free speech activist and critic of Scientology, discussed his opinions on the recent Internet backlash against the Church of Scientology in an interview with former Scientologist and Wikinews reporter Nicholas Turnbull. The recent conflict on the Internet between critics of Scientology and the Church has been spurred on in declarations by a nebulous Internet entity using the name Anonymous that the Church of Scientology "will be destroyed". Anonymous has directed recent protests at Scientology centres across the world, which have attracted significant numbers of individuals supporting the cause. In recent e-mail correspondence with Wikinews, a representative of the Church of Scientology declared that the Church considers the activities of Anonymous to be illegal, and that Anonymous "will be handled and stopped".
Touretzky, a research professor in artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University, has been a prominent critic of the Church of Scientology since mid-1995, and has been protesting against Scientology vociferously since then; he has also run websites that publish material that Scientology wishes to keep suppressed from the public eye, such as extracts from Scientology's formerly-confidential Operating Thetan (OT) materials. Touretzky views the actions of the Church of Scientology as being "a threat to free speech", and has endured harassment by the Church of Scientology for his activities.  
The Church of Scientology continues to suffer damage to its public reputation through increased exposure on the Internet and vocal protests by Scientology critics such as Prof. Touretzky. A recent event that focused intense attention on Scientology's totalitarian attitude was the leak of an internal Church of Scientology propaganda video to the Internet video sharing site YouTube, in which celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise spoke heavily in Scientology's jargon and stated that that "we [Scientology] are the authorities" on resolving the difficulties of humanity. The declaration of war by Anonymous followed shortly after this leak, in the form of a video posted to the Internet. 
The ongoing dispute, cast by some as Scientology versus the Internet, brought Scientology terms such as  "SP" (Suppressive Person, an enemy of Scientology) and "KSW" (Keeping Scientology Working) into general usage by non-Scientologists from the late 1990s onwards; increased attention has been drawn to Scientology by the release of the Cruise video in addition to media coverage. This focus has caused an even greater propagation of these terms across the outside world, as Touretzky comments in the interview.
Wikinews asked Prof. Touretzky about the impact that the activities of Anonymous will have on Scientology, the public relations effect of the Tom Cruise video, the recent departure of individuals from the Church of Scientology's executive management, the strategies that Anonymous will employ and Touretzky's experiences of picketing the Church.
((Wikinews (Nicholas Turnbull))) : How deep do you think the impact of the Anonymous protests and Internet action will be on Scientology’s cashflow?
((WN)) : Yes, indeed... the movement seems to be taking a different sort of shape from just a load of pranksters to a proper, organised protest. So your basic opinion regarding the impact on Scientology's stats is that they are already too low, and failing, for the damage to be significant?
((WN)) : Presumably this would be, in part, because the celebs wouldn't want to sully their own PR [public relations] image.
((WN)) : Quite... the leaked video was quite possibly worse than the Oprah fiasco for his reputation, I think.
((WN)) : Yes, indeed; it has now become part of popular culture and the “blogosphere” has gone crazy over it.
((WN)) : I didn't know that she was appearing on Inside Edition, actually. I must catch that.
((WN)) : I believe the things like disconnection, fair game, the RPF [Rehabilitation Project Force, a Scientology penal system within the paramilitary Sea Org] etc. are all more captivating to the hearts and minds of the general public than Xenu... so do you think that the Church of Scientology will ever be able to recover from this blow to their reputation? In other words, will this be the "beginning of the end" of the Church seriously being able to promote themselves to the general public?
((WN)) : Indeed. There have been many high-profile blows [departures] from upper exec [executive] strata and I wonder how many more the CoS can cope with.
((WN)) : A further question, if I may, regarding the impact on Scientology: do you think that the recent activities of Anonymous will have a profound effect on the Sea Org hierarchy and possibly make it harder for the Church of Scientology to continue maintaining their PR image to their own staff members? Could this trigger a massive series of "blows" from the Sea Org?
((WN)) : What exactly is Anonymous going to do on the 10th? Are their intentions peaceful? 
((WN)) : What is your opinion on the reverse: do you think the CoS will be peaceful and legal in its handling of "Anonymous"? In a recent e-mail exchange with Wikinews, a Scientology staff member said that Anonymous would be "handled and stopped" and that the actions "have been reported". Will Scientology carry out its usual harassment, or do you think that it has learned its lesson that such abusive tactics cause more of a backlash?
((WN)) : I imagine the CoS will attempt their usual approach of trying to turn it into a pro-Scientology rally, as they have done at many smaller pickets, although I feel that it would fail miserably.
((WN)) : [laughs] So it sounds like you had quite a day of it, Dave.
((WN)) : What have been your most effective tactics against the CoS, then, Dave, in terms of impact and education of others?
((WN)) : Presumably because of the public exposure?
((WN)) : Indeed, as their PTS/SP [Potential Trouble Source/Suppressive Person] handling tech [technology] needs to be seen to be "working" at least to Scientologists.
((WN)) : I would have thought that [Scientologists hiding from critics’ protests] to be "non-confront" [refusing to face up to something] in the Scientologists' own doctrine; although they would see it, I suppose, as "cutting entheta comm" [refusing to engage in negative communication]. 
((WN)) : In your experience in pickets, has the "Why are you here? Ok, right. So why are you really here? Hehehe, no... why are you *really* here?" bullbaiting [of protesters] been killed off?
((WN)) : I think that kind of stratagem is probably going to be the most effective, because the Scientologists themselves can identify with such things; perhaps it may well be that it touches enough of a raw nerve in their own world, as it were, to give them pause for thinking. Is Scientology losing it grip on maintaining its "Wizard of Oz" world whereby its staff consider the tech to be infallible and the orgs to be clearing the planet?
((WN)) : Quite... there were very few "Founding Scientologists" in my day, largely because the purge in the 1980s had cleared most of the remaining ones out, and the remainder had left in disgust following "hard ethics" [severe disciplinary procedures].
((WN)) : Well, Dave, thank you so much for answering my questions, you've given an interesting perspective on all this.
((WN)) : In closing: how long do you think Scientology has got?
((WN)) : Thank you so much, again. You've been wonderful, and it has been a pleasure talking with you.
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David S. Touretzky discusses Scientology, Anonymous and Tom Cruise