Editing Xenu (section)

== Leaking of the story ==
Despite the Church of Scientology's efforts to keep the story secret, details have been leaked over the years. OT III was first revealed in Robert Kaufman's 1972 book ''[[Inside Scientology: How I Joined Scientology and Became Superhuman|Inside Scientology]]'', in which Kaufman detailed his own experiences of OT III.<ref name="kaufmanIII">{{Harvard citation no brackets |Kaufman|1972|loc =Part III}}</ref> It was later described in a 1981 Clearwater ''Sun'' article,<ref>{{cite journal| last =Leiby | first = Richard | title = Sect courses resemble science fiction | journal = Clearwater Sun | volume = 68 | issue=118 | date = August 30, 1981}}</ref> and came to greater public fame in a 1985 court case brought against Scientology by [[Lawrence Wollersheim]]. The church failed to have the documents sealed<ref name="koff1988" /> and attempted to keep the case file checked out by a reader at all times, but the story was summarized in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''<ref>{{cite news|last = Sappell | first = Joel |author2=Robert W. Welkos  | title = Scientologists Block Access To Secret Documents: 1,500 crowd into courthouse to protect materials on fundamental beliefs |work=Los Angeles Times | date=November 5, 1985|page=1}}</ref> and detailed in [[William Poundstone]]'s ''Bigger Secrets'' (1986) from information presented in the Wollersheim case.<ref>{{cite book|last=Poundstone|first=William|title=Bigger Secrets: More Than 125 Things They Prayed You'd Never Find Out|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1986|isbn=0-395-38477-X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/biggersecretsmor00poun/page/58 58–63]|url=https://archive.org/details/biggersecretsmor00poun/page/58}}</ref> In 1987, a book by [[L. Ron Hubbard Jr.]], ''[[L. Ron Hubbard, Messiah or Madman?]]'' quoted the first page of OT III and summarized the rest of its content.<ref name="corydon1987"/>

[[Image:Xenu BBC Panorama.jpg|right|thumb|Xenu as depicted by ''[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]'']]
Since then, news media have mentioned Xenu in coverage of Scientology or its celebrity proponents such as [[Tom Cruise]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Langan | first = Sean | title = Warning: Prince Xenu could destroy the Net |work=The Independent |location=UK | date = September 4, 1995|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/warning-prince-xenu-could-destroy-the-net-1599400.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/warning-prince-xenu-could-destroy-the-net-1599400.html |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=February 17, 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Alison|last= Braund|title = Inside the Cult | publisher=Carlton Television|work= The Big Story (ITV)| date= July 7, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Adams | first = Stephen | title = Scientology&nbsp;– a brief history |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK | date = May 14, 2007 | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1551456/Scientology---a-brief-history.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090515205754/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1551456/Scientology---a-brief-history.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = May 15, 2009 | access-date =December 3, 2008}}</ref> In 1987, the [[BBC]]'s investigative news series ''[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]'' aired a report titled "The Road to Total Freedom?" which featured an outline of the OT III story in cartoon form.<ref name="panorama1987">{{cite episode| title = Scientology&nbsp;– The Road to Total Freedom?| series = Panorama| series-link = Panorama (TV series)| airdate = April 27, 1987}}</ref>

On December 24, 1994, the Xenu story was published on the Internet for the first time in a posting to the [[Usenet]] [[newsgroup]] [[alt.religion.scientology]], through an [[anonymous remailer]].<ref name="scnvinternet">{{cite magazine |title=Scientology v. the Internet |first1=Jim |last1=Lippard |author1-link=Jim Lippard |first2=Jeff |last2=Jacobsen |magazine=[[Skeptic (American magazine)|Skeptic]] |volume=3 |issue=3 |year=1995 |url=https://www.skeptic.com/magazine/archives/3.3/ |pages=35–41 |url-access=subscription}} {{cite web |url=https://www.discord.org/lippard/skeptic/03.3.jl-jj-scientology.html |title=Authorized copy <!--link is to an authorized copy by author of article on his own website--> |website=[[Jim Lippard|discord.org]]}}</ref> This led to an [[Scientology versus the Internet|online battle between Church of Scientology lawyers and detractors]]. Older versions of OT levels I to VII were brought as exhibits attached to a declaration by [[Steven Fishman]] on April 9, 1993, as part of ''Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz''. The text of this declaration and its exhibits, collectively known as the [[Fishman Affidavit]], were posted to the Internet newsgroup [[alt.religion.scientology]] in August 1995 by [[Arnaldo Lerma|Arnie Lerma]] and on the [[World Wide Web]] by [[David S. Touretzky]]. This was a subject of great controversy and legal battles for several years. There was a [[copyright]] raid on Lerma's house (leading to massive [[mirror website|mirroring]] of the documents)<ref>{{cite news|last=Grossman|first=Wendy| title=Scientologists Fight On |work=The Guardian |location=UK|date=August 17, 1995|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Andrew|last=Brown|title=Let's All Beam Up To Heaven|work=The Independent |location=UK|date=May 2, 1996|page=17|quote=The group responded with a campaign of raids and seizures around the US, claiming that these documents were copyrighted trade secrets. Each time one of the dissidents was raided, sympathisers copied the documents more widely.}}</ref> and a suit against Dutch writer [[Karin Spaink]]—the Church bringing suit on [[Copyright infringement|copyright violation]] grounds for reproducing the source material, and also claiming rewordings would reveal a trade secret.

The Church of Scientology's attempts to keep Xenu secret have been cited in court findings against it. In September 2003, a Dutch court, in a ruling in the case against Karin Spaink, stated that one objective in keeping OT II and OT III secret was to wield power over members of the Church of Scientology and prevent discussion about its teachings and practices:<ref>{{cite news | last =The Court of Justice at The Hague | title =LJN: AI5638, Gerechtshof 's-Gravenhage, 99/1040 | work =de Rechtspraak | page =Section 8.4 | language =nl | publisher =zoeken.rechtspraak.nl | date =September 4, 2003 | url =http://zoeken.rechtspraak.nl/resultpage.aspx?snelzoeken=true&searchtype=ljn&ljn=AI5638&u_ljn=AI5638 | access-date =December 1, 2008 |quote=Uit de hiervoor onder 8.3 vermelde teksten blijkt dat Scientology c.s. met hun leer en organisatie de verwerping van democratische waarden niet schuwen. Uit die teksten volgt tevens dat met de geheimhouding van OT II en OT III mede wordt beoogd macht uit te oefenen over leden van de Scientology-organisatie en discussie over de leer en praktijken van de Scientology-organisatie te verhinderen.}}</ref>

Despite his claims that premature revelation of the OT III story was lethal, L. Ron Hubbard wrote a screenplay version under the title ''[[Revolt in the Stars]]'' in the 1970s.<ref name="OxfordHandbook">{{cite book|last= Grünschloß |first= Andreas |author-link=Andreas Grünschloß|year=2004 |chapter= Waiting for the "Big Beam," UFO Religions and "UFOlogical" Themes in New Religious Movements|pages= 427–8 |editor=James R. Lewis |title= The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements |publisher= Oxford University Press US |isbn= 0-19-514986-6 |editor-link= James R. Lewis (scholar) }}</ref> This revealed that Xenu had been assisted by beings named Chi ("the Galactic Minister of Police") and Chu ("the Executive President of the Galactic Interplanetary Bank").<ref name="atack245">{{Harvnb|Atack|1990|p=245}}</ref> It has not been officially published, although the [[film treatment|treatment]] was circulated around Hollywood in the early 1980s.<ref name="leiby">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/06/AR2005070601403.html|title=John Travolta's Alien Notion: He Plays a Strange Creature In a New Sci-Fi Film, but That's Not the Only Curious Thing About This Project|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 3, 2008|date=November 28, 1999|last=Leiby|first=Richard}}</ref> Unofficial copies of the screenplay circulate on the Internet.<ref name="lewis">{{cite book | editor-last =Lewis | editor-first =James R.  | author-link =James R. Lewis (scholar)|others=Introduction by [[J. Gordon Melton]] | title =The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements | publisher =[[Oxford University Press]] | year =2004 | pages =427, 541 | isbn = 0-19-514986-6}}</ref><ref name="lewisufo">{{cite book | editor-last =Lewis | editor-first =James R.  | author-link =James R. Lewis (scholar) | title =The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions | publisher =Prometheus Books |date=November 2003 | page =42 | isbn =1-57392-964-6 }}</ref><ref name="melton">{{cite book | last =Partridge| first =Christopher | author-link =Christopher Partridge |author2=J. Gordon Melton  | title =New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities | publisher =[[Oxford University Press]] | date =May 6, 2004 | page =374 | isbn =0-19-522042-0| author2-link =J. Gordon Melton }}</ref>

On March 10, 2001, a user posted the text of OT3 to the online community [[Slashdot]]. The site owners took down the comment after the Church of Scientology issued a legal notice under the [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]].<ref>{{cite magazine | last = McCullagh | first = Declan | title = Xenu Do, But Not on Slashdot | magazine = Wired| publisher=[[CondéNet, Inc.]]|date = March 17, 2001 | url = https://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/03/42486 | access-date =December 3, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Malda | first = Rob | title = Scientologists Force Comment Off Slashdot | work = Slashdot | date = March 16, 2001 | url = http://slashdot.org/yro/01/03/16/1256226.shtml | access-date =November 19, 2008|publisher=slashdot.org}}</ref> Critics of the Church of Scientology have used public protests to spread the Xenu secret.<ref name="ramadge02280210">{{cite news | last =Ramadge | first =Andrew | title =Scientology protests begin in Australia | work =[[NEWS.com.au]] | publisher =Herald and Weekly Times | date =February 10, 2008}}</ref> This has included creating web sites with "xenu" in the [[domain name]],<ref>{{cite news | last =McCullagh | first =Declan | title =Google Yanks Anti-Church Sites | work =Wired News | publisher = [[CondéNet, Inc.]] | date =March 21, 2002 | url =https://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2002/03/51233 | access-date =December 1, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Dawson |first= Lorne L. | author-link = Lorne L. Dawson |author2=Douglas E. Cowan  |title=Religion Online |url= https://archive.org/details/religiononlinefi00daws |url-access= limited |date= January 1, 2004 |publisher= Routledge (UK) |isbn= 0-415-97022-9 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/religiononlinefi00daws/page/n180 172], 261–262|author2-link= Douglas E. Cowan }}</ref> and displaying the name Xenu on banners<ref>{{cite news | last =Staff | title =When buses become billboards | work =[[St. Petersburg Times]] | publisher =sptimes.com | date =December 22, 1998 | url =http://www.sptimes.com/Commentary/122298/When_buses_become_bil.html | access-date =December 1, 2008}}</ref> and protest signs.<ref name="ramadge02280210" />