A Scientology sponsored article was published by The Atlantic and then quickly pulled from the website after controversy ensured. The “advertorial” garnered a plethora of comments that allegedly lead to the removal of the Church of Scientology article.
The post about David Miscavige and the progress of the Church of Scientology was published just after noon on Monday, The Blaze notes. Although the controversy sparking article is no longer visible, a cached version of the report still offers a glimpse into what all the fuss was about.
An excerpt from the Scientology article The Atlantic yanked off their website reads:
“2012 was a milestone year for Scientology, with the religion expanding to more than 10,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups, spanning 167 nations–figures that represent a growth rate 20 times that of a decade ago. The driving force behind this unparalleled era of growth is David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion.”
The Church of Scientology also detailed the specific areas in which the organization had expanded during the past year. Photos of “Ideal Scientology Churches” were also included in the originally published piece.
Once Twitter and Facebook users learned about The Atlantic’s Scientology advertorial via link sharing, comments beneath the article came flooding in. The message which now appears where the David Miscavige piece once was tells readers that the content has been temporarily suspended while sponsor advertisement policies are reviewed.
The message about the pulled Church of Scientology post also goes on to note that comment management thread policies are also under review. The vast majority of the comments beneath the post were allegedly pro-Scientology and appeared as if they were an extension of the article, according to Gawker .