4chan sprays Google with "scientology" and a nasty insult

4chan's directions for the Hot Trends prank. This formulation,  where a set of steps end with "???" and then "profit" is itself an oft-used meme.

Last week it was a swastika topping Google's Hot Trends. Now it's the phrase "scientology is a cult," and, even more flattering for the search engine company that's having its feature bombed by ne'er-do-wells: now we see an upside-down and backwards taunt: "ǝlƃooƃ noʎ ****", only the asterisks are, in this case, a four letter word that rhymes with truck.

In the case of the swastika, we couldn't prove that users of the popular image board 4chan were behind it (their discussion threads can pass out of existence within minutes), but this time there can be no doubt. 

As of this writing, several active 4chan threads were devoted to the mass Googling of the "scientology" phrase as well as the upside-down truck insult, all as 4chan users congratulated themselves for having propelled the two phrases to the top of the list (see image at bottom). They were even planning to start with a third: "LOL".  A 4Chan moderator has not yet returned a request for comment.

(Just before this post was published, both entries were removed from the Trends list.)

4chan is enjoying much spotlight after being featured in two major media profiles in the last few days, as well as in the writeup I did on the swastika situation. 4chan is home to a group of Internet trouble makers, or "griefers." (Julian Dibbell detailed the practice in this excellent Wired article from January.)

4chan users revel in causing controversy -- and there's nothing like race or religion to get tempers flaring. Just yesterday the group staged a "raid" on the popular online childrens' game Habbo Hotel, flooding the game's world with avatars made to look like black men wearing Armani suits. Among 4chan's favorite raid flourishes, it turns out, is the 'swastiget' -- where invaders line up in the shape of a swastika. All for the lulz, of course.

A 4chan poster declares the prank a "win"

It seems that with Google Trends, the group has found a new toy to slam on the sidewalk until it breaks, and because this one is owned by the biggest Internet company on the block, no wonder these young fellows are so gleeful.

It remains to be seen how easily the Google Trends team can make their product "grief" proof.

Comments

[Chuck Beatty]

Look up Lorne Dawon's Oxford University Press book , 1998, "Comprehending Cults." In it Dawson puts Scientology, the Moonies and Hare Krishnas into the "established cult" category, see page 31. Read some Robert Jay Lifton on what Lifton listed as what constitutes a totalistic group. Read what the top scholars say about where Scientology fits in. Scientology is authoritarian, secretive, it still publicly won't even admit the Xenu holocaust story, yet the L. Ron Hubbard lecture has leaked to YouTube and anyone can listen to Hubbard detail the Xenu holocaust story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuHNcAhtZEY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KOspFSdO-k&feature=related

[Toomy]

Anyone knows that these "popular" searches are BOGUS... skewed by special interests... a PR SCAM by googold to get you to view those search results pages that have goopoo ads... it where goodung makes it's $.

Google references it's own ads in it's search results which any web master will tell you is BOGUS... because the ads change moment to moment. A "Bug" droolgle has acknowledged but in all it's wisdom hasn't (been able to) fixed (because they make more $ with it broke).

[Roscoe]

Basic Scientology tech is valid but to keep people paying the dough they have invented "levels" to keep the cash coming in... check out alternative groups for same/similar tech without the jack-boots.

Warning: Don't ever give them your mailing address or phone number, you'll never get rid of 'em.

[David]

http://img.4chan.org/b/imgboard.html

Always looking for more members.

Come join the Randomness LOL.

[Zoey Hampton]

The comments make it very clear that the members of 4chan need to get a life, as well as learn to spell and write cogently.

[Frank G]

I am a Scientologist.
Probably Scientologists should organize and do a counter-campaign... or maybe not... it would be just a waste of time!
Anyway ithere is an official site where one can find data on Scientology... scientology.org.

Even better go to the library and read books like "Fondaments of Thought" of "What is Scientology" . If you want to know what Scientology is about read Scientology books!

[David Mudkips]

The use of the swastika is not an attempt to invoke nazi sympathies, but rather a symbol chosen that is considered highly taboo and is used for its shock value. Like goatse before it, eventually when the swastika stops getting a reaction from people, a new shock meme will establish itself which will be considered equally if not more offensive than the last until it too becomes boring.

[Savid Darno]

Hey David Sarno,
"ne'er-do-well" means shiftless and irresponsible. it is not a synonym for "villain".

[David Sarno]

Savid:

Is that your real name? Amazing!

Thanks for the heads up on ne'er-do-well. You're right. And I've been using that one wrong for a while now, so good thing you alerted me.

[Dkaye]

I am a Scientologist. I personally find the use of a popular subject (eg Scientology) in a ridiculing or denigrating manner to fulfill one's own personal whims and sense of "accomplishment" to be a sad statement of the persons own integrity and intelligence. Whether it be Scientology yesterday, a Mormon (any other religion for that matter) or as the New Yorker did with Mr. Obama on their cover. Ironically, the "stated" aim of individuals to somehow impede or otherwise "harm" Scientology or Scientologist with the lies and misinformation so rampantly spread, actually has been proven to promote and expand Scientology. Every day that someone publishes something derogatory - the cycle of curious individuals continues where they actually fact check and research themselves and find out what Scientology is about and then themselves get interested in what really is the scoop, and like Anonymous, the perpetrators become become forgotten and Scientology stronger. I am really even spending this time typing because of the issue with Obama today, as a Scientologist this is all very boring and hardly interesting.

[AnonyMary]

DKaye, the majority of people criticizing Scientology via the internet have valid reasons for doing it. I used to be a long time scientologist like you but I took the blinders off and started reading the information the church somehow convinced me I should not read. It was only then that I began to think for myself and evaluate the information. It is the truth which sets things free. You are not free and I feel very sorry for you and other scientologists. That is why I am now on the internet exposing the truth about scientology. I am not alone in this endeavor. Thousand and thousands have left the cult and have found the internet to be the liberty tree, as arnie lerma of lermanet.com like to call it.

[Alan Connor]

It's not 4chan that the LA Times are insterested in, it's Scientology. In the name of diversity, the LA Times will try to defend what is little more than a pyramid scheme dressed up as a "religion", and expect to be portrayed as the good guys as a result.

Makes me wonder what favours are being exchanged behind the scenes.

[Bob]

Internet, lol.

[AF]

If an act of real-world vandalism was perpetrated and it was discovered that the perpetrators resided in Los Angeles and got together to plan the act in Los Angeles and even got together in Los Angeles afterwards to celebrate victory -- would it be a journalistically defensible action to refer to "the people of Los Angeles" as the entity that perpetrated the vandalism?

No? Then it's rather a shame that you referred throughout your post to what "4chan users" were doing, as if any self-selected subset of its users could somehow be expected to be representative.

[David^2]

Aw come on. We all do it. You do it. I do it. Ceilingcat knows all about how we all do it. Boys just wanna have fun, and some of us older hackers, crackers, and smackers need play time as well.

I mean sweet baby Jesus, nobody died -- probably because none of us signed up for Scientology's "Narconon" scam.

[It's a Dangerous Cult]

LOL at NarCONon scam thx David^2, S'trooth!

Seriously, don't EVER let anybody go to a Narconon, they fail at independently verifiable studies for effectiveness and their withdrawal program (5 hours sauna a day and abnormally high doses of Niacin)could cause liver damage.

Here is good info on the dangers of Scientology/Narconon for anyone interested:

www.narconon-exposed.org

[Ari]

I doubt Google is too upset over the issue. It simply shows them ways they need to improve their software. They deal with these kinds of things all the time.

[redcram]

4chan represents a collection of opinions and different "pranks" as you call them, however, in their defense - its showed google up, and as google is the primary search engine and one of the most important companies in the world, it need to more on the game. This has happened several times in a row - wake up google.

Upside down text, the scientology is a cult, and some others were originated at 4chan, note the past tense "were", 4chan is a constantly moving forum

[Know The Truth]

First of all 4chan is community, i would say not even a community but a collective.
it is not a one man show, it is not a collective of like minded people.
all types of people are on that site. Male, Female, Geeks, Supids, Bad, Good, Angry, Sad, Funny, Witty... you get everything.

All enjoying the pleasure of posting anonymously, getting answers to their questions, putting their viewpoints and like anyother community creating occasional funny moments.
Unlike your view Mr.Sarno they do not like the media attention, they never did. they are anonymous.

You may have screen shots for that whole thread, you may have seen that more people were against the idea of 'scientology is a cult' search and wanted to do alternate searches.

i don't understand what was the big deal which made you right this article.

you are writing about habbo hotel, do you know why these raids are done?
scientology is really a cult, why don't you do a report on them?

[Galib]

Swastikas is no joke and these people need to quick with it and black men in Armani suits. If only you used your hacking man power to put Darfur on the top of the google trends instead of some miniscule religion. Selfish twits, you'd rather get famous of the hits to your anti-scilon websites, cause that brings traffic and big adsense account paychecks, but not worthy issues. All you want is website traffice money, cause that is how you get to stay home all day and waste your time hacking what brings you the income.

[Anonymousie]

- To be fair, the Habbo Hotel raids were provoked by a few of the mods being racist in the first place, wasn't it? I wasn't part of it, but I know that there was an actual reason for the original raid which, if I'm not mistaken, the recent one is an anniversary of.

- Look, if a cult (or religion, if you prefer) does things which is outside the law, then it needs to be stopped. Just because Scientology have more money than...say, the Branch Davidians, or the People's Temple, does not make it any less dangerous (in fact, it makes them more so). Nor do the presence of celebrities make it a particularly convincing argument. And if Project Chanology is going to lead the way in exposing what the media (and respective governments) have been too corrupt and scared of Scientology's influence to admit, then I'm all for it.

[lolercaust]

"Gnomes" (often referred to as "Underpants Gnomes") is the 30th episode of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It was originally broadcast on December 16, 1998.

The Underpants Gnomes have a three-phase business plan, consisting of:
1. Collect underpants
2. ?
3. Profit

None of the gnomes actually know what the second phase is, and all of them assume that someone else within the organization does.

[anonymous]

Yet another reporter being paid by Scientology to make false accusations against a simple internet site.

[Richard M.]

Whoever wrote this article has has their facts wrong. This prank and many others are started by ebaumsworld.com and lolcats.com. 4chan has been down for over 2 years.

[Toto]

4chan is the meme king? maybe they can create some meme's about obama before he buys his way into office...