Scientology’s blatant social media fraud fuels attacks on Leah Remini and Mike Rinder

[Concerned Scientologists gather at Flag for a briefing on how to use social media]

Jeffrey Augustine keeps us up on Scientology’s latest strategies online…

Continue reading Scientology’s blatant social media fraud fuels attacks on Leah Remini and Mike Rinder

Masterson witness fears for safety as investigation drags on and on

[Scientologist actor Danny Masterson]

Amy Zimmerman at the Daily Beast dropped a bomb on the Danny Masterson story last night. She revealed that the LAPD and Los Angeles District Attorney’s office have copies of letters written by the mother of one of Masterson’s accusers — the woman we’re calling “Victim B” — and those letters suggest that in 2004 the Church of Scientology was persecuting two different women who had made rape allegations against Masterson. One of the letters, in fact, was addressed to church leader David Miscavige.

Continue reading Masterson witness fears for safety as investigation drags on and on

Scientology’s messiah? ‘Hubbard believed he was as great as Jesus, Buddha, & Mohammed’

This week in our series from books about Scientology, we have an excerpt from Nancy Many’s fascinating 2009 testament, My Billion-Year Contract: Memoir of a Former Scientologist. Nancy is the only former church member who has written about the “messianic project” of the late 1970s, and we’re glad she gave us this section to show you…

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Scientology’s homophobia and its disconnection policy — still producing refugees today

[Justin Rybacki]

One of the questions we’ve run into numerous times since Leah Remini’s series began airing come from people not very familiar with Scientology who ask why it is that the people who appear on the show all seem so prosperous and living in lavish homes.

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Shocking molestation claims inside Scientology leaking out before ‘Aftermath’ episode

For several weeks, one of the stories that’s going to be featured on the third season of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath has been spinning out of control on social media, and at this point, especially after the last couple of days, it’s impossible to ignore what’s going on.

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It’s ‘Declare your Independence of Scientology Day’ here again at the Underground Bunker

Here in the United States it’s a red-letter day, and we have an annual tradition that we’re keeping alive here at the Underground Bunker. It’s Independence Day, and as in past years, we celebrate with the stories of Scientologists who have dissolved the bands that kept them in a totalitarian organization and declared their independence of it. We’re privileged this year to start off today’s celebration with an account by former Sea Org member Peter McMahon. We hope other former church members will include their own stories of freedom in the comments section — even if you told those stories in past years. We want to hear them again! And here’s Peter….

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When Scientology’s toxic policy of disconnection is forever: Saying goodbye to Angela Paris

[Valeska and Angela Paris]

Valeska Paris recently posted a crushing note on Facebook about her stepmother, Angela. We asked her if she wanted to write a more lengthy piece for the Bunker, and we’re very glad that we did.

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Freed files: Scenes from a government investigation of Scientology

[E-meter machines being taken away during the 1958 raid in Washington]

In 1958, the Food and Drug Administration raided Scientology’s Washington DC org in an investigation of health claims that the church was making with its “E-meter.” Over the next several years, the FDA conducted an intense and widespread investigation of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology before ultimately settling the matter in 1971.

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Scientology celebrates 30 years of duping wealthy people on the high seas!

Thanks to Pete Griffiths for making us aware that Scientology has posted its photos from this year’s Maiden Voyage activities at its website.

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Scientology scam: ‘It hadn’t occurred to me I was getting appalling advice from Church execs’

This week in our series of excerpts from books about Scientology, we have an excerpt from the newest addition to the pile, Chris Shugart’s Fractured Journey: A Personal Account of 30 Outrageous Years in the Church of Scientology. We specifically asked for this portion of the book, which practically drove us nuts when we read it. Couldn’t Chris see the disaster he was walking into? Ah, Scientologists. From the books chapter ten, “Rising Costs,” here’s Chris’s setup for what became a world of hurt.

Continue reading Scientology scam: ‘It hadn’t occurred to me I was getting appalling advice from Church execs’

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