For the Lulz: How 9000 Internet Jackasses Took On the Church of Scientology and Redefined the Politics of Play

Julian Dibbell

Thu., June 11, 7:00–8:30, Union Theater (2nd floor, West/Northwest)

In January of 2008, responding to the Church of Scientology’s repeated use of copyright law to muffle its online critics, a formless, faceless swarm of Internet mischiefmakers calling itself Anonymous declared “war” on Scientology — and has been waging it ever since. The group’s tactics have included ridicule, satire, massive public pickets, informed education, and ruthless, sometimes criminal acts of pranksterism, while its motivations are an equally complex blend of indignation, vendetta, and above all, the dogged pursuit of amusement. Spontaneous in its origins and leaderless in its organization, the campaign has been called the first “accidental protest movement”, a case study in the Internet’s ability to foster low-cost, ad-hoc activism. Just as important, however, is what it says about the Internet’s capacity to amplify, for better or worse, the social power of the ludic, turning play itself into a political force to be reckoned with.