TikTok Scientology speedrun trend raises questions after Sydney and Brisbane arrests

TikTok trend or hate crime? The “Scientology speedrun” trend is turning internet chaos into real-world controversy.

The internet has found its latest real-world obsession, and it involves sprinting into Scientology buildings while livestreaming the chaos for TikTok.

Dubbed the “Scientology speedrun”, the bizarre viral trend has escalated from niche internet joke to police matter in cities including Sydney and Brisbane, with arrests, mass gatherings and allegations of harassment now attached to what began as a social media challenge.

The concept borrows from gaming culture, where “speedrunning” refers to players attempting to complete a game or level as quickly as possible. In the real-world version, participants attempt to enter Scientology buildings and get as far inside as they can before being stopped by staff or security.

Many film the encounters for TikTok or livestream platforms, narrating the experience like gameplay while attempting to “beat” previous entrants, map layouts or access restricted sections of buildings. Online forums have even begun ranking buildings by difficulty and discussing strategy.

What started as a niche online trend in Los Angeles earlier this year has since spread globally, with videos reportedly gaining tens of millions of views before some were removed from TikTok, Crikey reported.

While the trend may sound absurd, its popularity says something deeper about internet culture in 2026, where irony, livestreaming and real-world risk increasingly collide.

Scientology has long occupied a strange place online.

For years, the church has been heavily meme-ified across Reddit, YouTube and TikTok thanks to its secrecy, celebrity links and controversial public image. Documentaries, former member testimonies and internet conspiracy culture have only deepened public fascination.

For younger audiences especially, Scientology has become less a religion and more an internet myth — mysterious, inaccessible and surrounded by cultural intrigue.

That exclusivity appears to be part of the appeal.

The challenge combines the adrenaline of urban exploration with the chaotic unpredictability of livestream culture. Participants often treat attempts like a video game mission, narrating their “progress” while audiences watch in real time. Others frame it as satire, protest or anti-Scientology activism.

Former Scientologist and outspoken critic Leah Remini has reportedly criticised the trend, speaking on NBC news, the actor warned it risks turning serious allegations surrounding the church into internet entertainment.

“This trend creates chaos, it creates a spectacle.

“Worst of all, it hands Scientology exactly what they want”, Remini continued.

“The ability to position themselves as the victim”.

The Scientology speedruns Down Under

Recent gatherings in Australia have already escalated beyond prank territory.

In Sydney, around 100 young people gathered outside the Scientology building on Castlereagh Street after plans circulated online. Riot police attended, and two women were arrested after allegedly failing to comply with police directions.

Separate incidents earlier this year allegedly involved a teenage boy entering the building and filming themselves before later being dealt with under the Youth Offender Act, The Daily Telegraph reported.

In Brisbane, the trend spiralled further when hundreds reportedly gathered outside the church’s George Street premises. Footage circulating online showed crowds climbing onto police vehicles, riding BMX bikes through the area and causing disruption in the CBD. Multiple people were charged following the incident.

Ironically, many participants never even entered the buildings at all — the spectacle outside became the content itself.

TikTok trend or hate crime?

The growing trend has also sparked debate around whether targeting religious institutions for online entertainment constitutes harassment or hate behaviour.

Some commentators and Scientology representatives argue the trend unfairly targets a religious group and risks encouraging trespassing, intimidation and anti-religious hostility.

Others online insist Scientology’s controversial reputation places it in a different category to mainstream religions, arguing the trend functions more as satire or protest than religious discrimination.

That tension may explain why the story has spread so quickly online. The “Scientology speedrun” sits at the intersection of several internet obsessions at once: challenge culture, livestream chaos, conspiracy intrigue and anti-establishment humour.

But as the trend moves from TikTok feeds into real-world crowds, police incidents and arrests, what began as an internet joke is starting to raise more serious questions about where online entertainment ends, and real-world consequences begin.