‘Anonymous’ Shows Its Face, Sort Of, For Scientology Protest On Hollywood Blvd.

Remember, remember the … 10th of February? There were no spectacular fireworks flying out of the Hollywood Scientology Center set to Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” yesterday afternoon, but there were an awful lot of folks in Guy Fawkes masks protesting the somewhere-in-the-Pacific-Ocean-based organization. It was one of several such demonstrations held throughout the world yesterday. For those out of the internet-meme-activism loop:

An ominous, computer-voiced message on YouTube called out Scientology for their “campaigns of misinformation; suppression of dissent; your litigious nature.” It was signed, simply, Anonymous. After it was determined that Anonymous was neither a lost Radiohead b-side nor Stephen Hawking, a vocal anti-Scientology movement sprouted around it, resulting in its first physical manifestation in yesterday’s international protests. Defamer video swami Molly McAleer hoofed it to the action to get up close and personal with these masked men and women of Anonymous’s L.A. chapter.

• Web Scout: Spinning through online entertainment and connected culture [LAT]
• Message to Scientology [YouTube]