Millions watch as 60 Minutes exposes fanatical cult's abuses of legal system, free speech, and critics

December 28, 1997

A television news program, 60 Minutes, considered to be the United States' premiere investigative news program, featured a scathing 25-minute expose of Scientology's actions regarding a nonprofit organization called the Cult Awareness Network (CAN) on Sunday, December 28. CAN was the largest organization in the United States which aided cult victims, especially assisting parents whose children became trapped in dangerous cults.
Scientology filed 44 frivolous and malicious lawsuits against CAN, almost simultaneously, for the purpose of suing the organization out of existence and silencing its criticism of Scientology.

The program, 60 Minutes aired the Scientology piece two months later than originally planned. During that time, Scientology demonstrated a continuous effort to intimidate 60 Minutes and CBS into squelching the program. 60 Minutes
courageously showed the documentary December 28th in spite of Scientology's threats, but some of the most important parts of the story were not told, particularly Scientology's other outrageous abuses of the legal system and its infamous efforts to curtail its critics free speech on the Internet.

What 60 Minutes may have been afraid to include in its expose of Scientology:
1. Scientology is currently using the same tactics of legal abuse which it employed to close CAN against another nonprofit organization which helps cult victims and their families. This second organization, FACTNet, has been the object of Scientology's frivolous lawsuits over the past few years as Scientology attempts to silence the free speech criticism of this organization and drive it out of existence. For more information, see:

2. Scientology has enacted a massive effort to crush free speech and criticism on the Internet. For more information, see:

3. Scientology has attempted to destroy the effectiveness of the legal process both in and out of U.S. courts. For more information, see:

4. Scientology has been connected with numerous other human rights abuses aside from silencing critics. For more information, see:

5. Scientology has been accused of religious persecution of its former members. For more information, see:

6. Scientology's secret religious beliefs and initiations are shocking. For more information, see:

7. Scientology uses and/or abuses celebrities like John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley, and Nicole Kidman to defend itself and promote itself to unsuspecting and naive recruit targets. For more information, see:

8. There has been massive negative worldwide reaction to Scientology's human rights abuses in the form of pickets, protests, and boycotts. For more information, see:

9. Mysterious deaths, suicide attempts, suicides, and other mental and physical abuses of past and current members, have been associated with Scientology. For more information, see:

For other information on Scientology and Dianetics from the largest online reference library in the world, see