Controversy has been following the new action film Sound Of Freedom since its release on July 4.
The movie is based on the life of Tim Ballard, who is a former Department of Homeland Security agent, and his deceptive sting operations, whose goals were to catch child sex traffickers. The film focuses on Ballard rescuing children who have been abducted in the jungles of Colombia, specifically a brother and sister who were lured to Honduras under false pretenses.
The movie has been a hit so far, reaching the fourth spot on the top box office, but critics are questioning the truth of this movie, stating that the child exploitation portrayed is incorrect and caters to conspiracy theorists, specifically QAnon.
The film does differ from Ballard’s true story, as it focuses on Ballard, played by Jim Caviezel, risking his life while sneaking around criminals and beating up traffickers before he saves the children. In reality, Ballard has never claimed that he went to these lengths to save any children. The movie ends with footage from the group Ballard created in real life called Operation Underground Railroad, whose goal was to save trafficked children. The film claims, “By the time Tim left Colombia, he and the team had rescued over 120 victims and arrested more than a dozen traffickers.”
Former President Donald Trumpwas a Ballard supporter, inviting him to work on the State Department advisory council on human trafficking.
The movie is not directly linked to QAnon conspiracy theories, which falsely hold that a group of Democratic pedophiles is working against the interests of Trump, but some connections have drawn critics’ attention.
QAnon message boards have been promoting the film, which has been accused of supporting the movement. This is partially due to Ballard and Caviezel expressing support for a few of QAnon’s claims. Caviezel has even been spotted giving a speech at one of QAnon’s events.
While many seem to support Ballard and his group, Operation Underground Railroad has been accused of using the victims to create dramatic videos that undermine how complex the sex trafficking business is, not assisting the children adequately and even putting some in danger for the videos.
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In 2014, the group rescued several Dominican girls, but it was reported that a week later the girls were out on their own again with no protection.
The Davis County Attorney’s Office has even investigated Operation Underground Railroad for two and a half years, investigating accusations that they committed fraud, retaliation and witness tampering, but no charges were filed.
