Scientology Runs are proving one of the internet’s strangest emerging trends. This is the art of people filming themselves as they attempt to run as far inside a Scientology center as they can before they get caught and thrown out.
In many ways, the Church of Scientology wants you to come into its buildings. But their preferred method is by way of paying vast fortunes and handing over control of your own life and decisions in order to remove the pesky Thetans that are living inside your body. What the extremely secretive organization is less keen on is people turning up unexpectedly, let alone sprinting through the doors to see how far they can get.
The scale of this trend is perhaps being slightly exaggerated, as really there are two main videos being reposted ad infinitum across the internet to create the impression of this being 2026’s planking or what have you. But perhaps this is just the sort of promotion it needs to really catch on.
Scientology, and its belief in an ancient space wizard and the demons he puts inside us that make us do naughty things, would be funny if it weren’t so awful. The building seen in both of the above clips is its main public-facing building in Hollywood, and so it’s the focus of the buzz regarding the many celebrities who have told the organization all their darkest secrets in order to join and now continue to give it huge amounts of their money. This draws a lot of attention from prankster channels and attention-seeking content creators, not least because of the hilarious way in which its recruiters will disappear inside and lock the doors like human trapdoor spiders when filmed.
Some have argued that this potential trend could ultimately be unhelpful for anyone who cares about exposing the nature of Scientology. Journalist Yashar Ali posted to X saying that “this plays right into Scientology indoctrination that the outside world is a violent place that wishes to disrupt the dissemination of Scientology,” adding that this sort of prank “helps keep them going.”
Hello there — as one of Scientology’s biggest targets, and as someone who has sacrificed a great deal to take on Scientology, I have to say that this is very unhelpful to the cause.
I have also consulted with many former Scientologists who agree with me.
This plays right into… https://t.co/bxWewB86Ff
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 7, 2026
Given just how exaggerated the scale of the trend appears to be at the moment, perhaps it’s not a matter of enormous concern. And it’s quite funny. And incredibly childish. It’s probably not a good idea to try.
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