“Operation Underground Railroad’s” Donor Confidence & Transparency Score, the manipulation of movies, plus a whole lot of red flags that are being ignored in the movie, Sound of Freedom.
Disclosure; I have yet to watch the film Sound of Freedom. I don’t know if I will. But what I do know is I will never pay to watch it.
Many people have asked me my thoughts on the movie Sound of Freedom (SF).
While I have much to say, I will keep it brief and focus on the two essential takeaways. The first is the censoring of sex trafficking victims themselves, and the second is Operation Underground Railroad’s (OURs) finances.
MOVIE MANIPULATION
My eight years studying filmmaking in Los Angeles have given me a different lens to look through when it comes to movie making. What I can say is I know the level of persuasion film has via “music manipulation,” lighting, subliminal signaling, stereotyping, and romanticizing, and it’s all very potent. But once you are aware of the tricks of the trade, you see them in every movie.
It has become difficult for me to watch most films these days because many, from observation, attempt to normalize the unnatural and dangerously manipulate our views to align with an undisclosed nefarious agenda.
BY WATCHING THE SOUND OF FREEDOM, YOU ARE FUNDING THE TRAFFICKERS
The rule of thumb here is that if we aren’t listening to the victims of any “said crime,” we aren’t doing them any favors.
I was struck by the video of Madyson Marquette, above, human trafficking survivor and author of My Father’s Daughter, Memoir of a Porn Star, about her harrowing tale of being human trafficked by her family.
Former porn star (Madyson Marquette) recounts her childhood experiences of sexual abuse and the events that led her into human trafficking. Read how she was miraculously rescued and then converted in prison.
Madyson, who has been trained to co-rescue children and extracts them and has a lot to say about The Sound of Freedom.
We must realize that when the victims are ignored and the heroes elevated and glorified… that should be our first clue that something is amiss.
Do you see how SF is being portrayed throughout social media, the media, by influencers? They all tell you the takeaway from the movie — it’s about “awareness.” Not eradication. Awareness.
In other words, let’s not do anything about it.
Rarely do we ever address the need to eradicate the respective crime these days…. instead we focus on making more people aware. It’s an effective way to deflect stopping criminals and their activities.
Those in power are essentially keeping this a pastime sport:
post, share, comment, buy your ticket, and you’re good to go.So, this post is for all those who remain censored and silenced. I hope this shortlist extracted from Madyson’s video above sheds some light on SF and what is seriously wrong with it:
These are just a few snapshots of Sound of Freedom star Jim Caviezel. Nothing to see here, folks.
The 15 Thoughts From a Trafficked Survivor on the Sound of Freedom (excerpts from the video above)
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One does not have to watch porn to know about porn. One does not need to watch the Sound of Freedom (SF) to know human trafficking exists.
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Tim Ballard, Jim Caviezel, and film supporter Mel Gibson never talked to sex trafficking survivors or survivors of ritual abuse (SRA) before or during the making of the film.
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No survivors were asked about their thoughts on SF once completed.
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No survivors were invited to the SF movie premiere.
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Many trafficked survivors are against SF and the organization OUR.
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SF romanticizes trafficking and does not portray the dark, dark reality.
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No child would run into the arms of anyone, let alone a man because they have been terrorized and traumatized and have no idea who to trust.
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SF is funding trafficking through our $22 per movie ticket purchase. Look at how much goes into SF and how little goes into saving victims.
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Human trafficking is not just about human trafficking; it’s demonic.
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To rescue human trafficked victims, one needs a shield of armor to protect your mental and spiritual health.
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No SRA survivors’ voices were elevated, including Cathy O’Brien, America’s most outspoken SRA survivor!
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We are putting a man on a pedestal (Tim Billard), acting like he is a god when he is not, while paying the wrong people.
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There is no media coverage of sex trafficking survivors. They are being ignored.
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We do not need to inform people of human trafficking; we need to ERADICATE IT.
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Sound of Freedom’s money will not save human-trafficked victims; it’s going to the perpetrators.
THE DARK HISTORY OF OPERATION UNDERGROUND RAILROAD (OUR)
Let’s just cut to the chase, simply look at OUR’s IRS form 990s (year 2021 form here), and you will have a clear picture this film and the producers are not about rescuing human trafficking victims but are in the business of trafficking them… and, boy, is it a moneymaker.
I’ll break it down for folks.
Whether you are Christian or not, MinistryWatch does a good job breaking down OURs financing. OUR’s overall rating for “donor confidence” is 47 out of 100 and it recommends donors “give with caution.”
Donor Confidence Score, Transparency Grade: D
OUR, founded in 2013, is currently under investigation by a Utah county attorney for making misleading statements in its fundraising appeals, a recurring problem as Ballard often overstates the group’s role in rescues, many of them using dramatic, but controversial raids, often with film cameras running. The group settled a lawsuit with one man it falsely claimed was a sex trafficker. OUR also restated claims that it used in fundraising appeals about a college that supposedly provided rescued women with college degrees after Utah State demanded a correction. In addition, the Utah Trafficking in Persons Task Force does not work with OUR.
The rest of the above article can be found HERE.
People are claiming they are aware of the topic by watching this movie, but they’re not listing to the survivors, not listening to the sound of their voices,. The actual survivors aren’t even a part of this discussion and are receiving no media coverage.
Doesn’t that seem a bit strange?
OPINION–Angel Studios’ “Sound of Freedom” pulled off a slick marketing coup this week. Capitalizing on the fact that none of the major studios would be debuting a movie during the July 4 week, it dropped SOF when most moviegoers were at the lake or the beach. That allowed it to slide into the number one spot for 24 hours, giving it bragging rights that will likely show up in marketing materials during its entire theatrical run.
This sleight-of-hand is a fitting tribute to the subject of the film, Tim Ballard, whose talent for self-promotion has earned him headlines and head-scratching from those who fact-check his claims.
MinistryWatch began reporting on Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), the organization Ballard founded and on which the movie is based, back in 2021. OUR says on its website it has rescued and supported “thousands of survivors in 28 countries and 26 U.S. states,” including 3,000 around the world in 2019 alone. The charity’s annual report said it took in more than $21 million in donations for that year, which was then the last year for which we had data.
Turns out it was just getting started. In 2021 the organization took in more than $42 million. But here’s where it gets interesting. In that same year, 2021, the organization spent only about $31 million on its work of allegedly rescuing sex trafficking victims. The year before, 2020, the numbers are even more strange. OUR took in $45 million but spent only $13.5 million. It had a whopping $33.9 million in profit.
And if you can stand a little more math, the bottom line is this: Operation Underground Railroad has a massive total of more than $80 million in assets, most of that accumulated in the past two years alone.
That’s enough money to fund operations for OUR for nearly three years even if it doesn’t raise another dime. But don’t count on that. OUR spent $3.5 million on fundraising in 2021, and $1.8 million in 2020.
Money controversies aren’t the only ones that have dogged Ballard and OUR.
Imagine a film about indigenous people, transgender, and disabled individuals being made with NO input from them. No consultants. No feedback from the very victims the movie is making money from. Would anyone tolerate this if it were anybody other than a sex-trafficked victim?
Why are the men who are making millions being praised when they have not gone to ONE SURVIVOR to verify for accuracy….but are making bank off of them?
As Madyson stated, “Everyone has an agenda until nobody has an agenda.”
Also, one can’t help that this movie is out to scare parents into getting their children microchipped for “their protection”….. (the search term “Microchip Tim Ballard” has been used more than 562 million times)….don’t think THAT isn’t a reality.
WHAT WOULD WE DO IF WE WANTED TO STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
There is so much we could do other than watch a movie about human sex trafficking, such as prosecuting the traffickers and not the victims. Better understand the victim’s perspective. Recognize the signs of human trafficking. Understand how vulnerable communities are impacted and what type of children are targeted. Prevent youth homelessness…. to name a few.
And, again, from Madyson’s Youtube video above, if we wanted to do something about human trafficking, we would be working on providing safe houses where women, children, and men can have their healing and not lose everything “because they are sucking the d**ks of Tim Ballard.”
Once again, shame on Hollywood.
And when will we ever learn?
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