Dive Brief:
- Prior to the March 29 launch of HBO's documentary on Scientology "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief," the church launched a digital campaign to persuade people to skip the film.
- The Church of Scientology purchased Google ads so that when users searched for key words related to the film, they were directed to a branded website for its Freedom Magazine, a publication featuring articles that discredit the film.
- The Twitter handle @FreedomEthics was also launched by the church to spread disparaging messages about "Going Clear," but received negative responses from Twitter followers.
#AlexGibney's #GoingClear – talking heads, insufferable music, way too long...Zzzzzzzzzzzzz... pic.twitter.com/VYxcqmXSMf
— Freedom Media Ethics (@FreedomEthics) March 29, 2015
Getting bombarded by @FreedomEthics promoted tweets trashing @alexgibneyfilm's Scientology movie, which only makes me want to see it more.
— Rebecca Keegan (@ThatRebecca) March 4, 2015
twitter selling promoted tweets to cults :/ pic.twitter.com/vzyMegxj2r
— Jessica Roy (@JessicaKRoy) March 25, 2015
Dive Insight:
Many users saw the Church of Scientology's Twitter campaign—which featured viewers falling asleep during the movie in theaters, presumably because it was boring—as trolling rather than providing an interesting commentary. Other Scientology ads have received similar backlash in the past, as demonstrated by the pushback The Atlantic encountered after running a native ad from the church.