The Atlantic publishes blog post sponsored by Scientology

(TheAtlantic.com)

The Atlantic magazine pulled late Monday a blog post published on its website sponsored by the Church of Scientology touting the religion's "milestone year" under leader David Miscavige, who succeeded its founder, science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

"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 blog post, labeled "sponsor content," began. "The driving force behind this unparalleled era of growth is David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion."

"We have temporarily suspended this advertising campaign pending a review of our policies that govern sponsor content and subsequent comment threads," Atlantic spokeswoman Natalie Raabe wrote in an email to Yahoo News.

Miscavige, the post asserted, is "unrelenting in his work for millions of parishioners and the cities served by Scientology Churches. He has led a renaissance for the religion itself, while driving worldwide programs to serve communities through Church-sponsored social and humanitarian initiatives."

It also listed the openings of "12 Ideal Scientology Churches" in 2012 under Miscavige's direction--replete with photos of large crowds at each opening.

The paid advertisement came just days before the publication of a controversial new book by New Yorker writer Lawrence Wright entitled "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief," based, in part, on his 2011 article, "Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology."

It appeared the advertorial was part of a preemptive strike by the church ahead of the book's publication, which is slated for Thursday.

A note linked to the top of the post made it clear that it's sponsor content was "created by The Atlantic?s Promotions Department in partnership with our advertisers" and that "The Atlantic editorial team is not involved in [its] creation."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/atlantic-scientology-miscavige-milestone-032942636.html

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