Ugh. Looks like some QAnon trolls are going onto other websites and discussion groups online and posting innocent-sounding posts to try to get people interested in this movie. An online discussion forum I visit, which is about another project that one of the supporting cast members was on, had a post along those lines ("Our favorite performer XYZ is in a great new film, it got X score on Rotten Tomatoes, can't wait to see this"). A lot of people there pointed out that the supposed "poster" is a brand new member of that forum and has only a handful of other spammy sounding posts. Just a jerk maneuver. Of course.

Maybe someone posted this upthread and I missed it, but the Washington Post had a detailed, lengthy story maybe two days ago, bout the movie, Jim Caviezel, the guy his character is based on, and the QAnon emphasis on shadowy conspiracies around child kidnapping etc. Worth a read, I can't link from where I am, but yeah, this film is extremely clever propaganda (who can resist the idea of "But the children!") for a problem that does not work like the propagandists insist it does.

It’s so laughable that with their manipulative “pay it forward” scheme, they claim to have been “more popular than Indiana Jones.” And dim bulbs just lap it up.

Anonymous wrote:Angel Studios is also known for employing some dubious tactics to generate revenue - read about their “Pay it Forward” campaign which accounts for a significant portion of their revenue.

I don’t think mainstream media is vilifying the film; the reviews are mostly positive. But they are giving the audience appropriate background to the film’s creation, funding, star (who is definitely a QAnon follower) and the claims that the story isn’t quite as true as presented. A lot of this (both the background story and film) are viewed as propaganda aimed to gain followers and enrich certain Q-adjacent groups.

One only has to look at the backlash against the reviews to see this is working. Any one who criticizes the film or the backstory is labeled as a “pedo-lover.” That’s really creepy.

That's true of every movie about real events or true stories. That this is the worst complaint about the movie shows how unsupported and purely politically driven the bad reviews are.

Anonymous wrote:The only people I see promoting it are qanon-adjacent wackos. I assume they’re “spreading important news” to us sheeple.

this. my right-wing nutso uncle is all about this film.

Angel Studios is also known for employing some dubious tactics to generate revenue - read about their “Pay it Forward” campaign which accounts for a significant portion of their revenue.

I don’t think mainstream media is vilifying the film; the reviews are mostly positive. But they are giving the audience appropriate background to the film’s creation, funding, star (who is definitely a QAnon follower) and the claims that the story isn’t quite as true as presented. A lot of this (both the background story and film) are viewed as propaganda aimed to gain followers and enrich certain Q-adjacent groups.

One only has to look at the backlash against the reviews to see this is working. Any one who criticizes the film or the backstory is labeled as a “pedo-lover.” That’s really creepy.

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen the movie and have an opinion? I am curious about it.

My DH + I saw it on the 4th of July.. I am liberal D and he is moderate D. We both liked the movie. We did not know it was controversial until we read about it in the paper after we saw the movie.

Human trafficking absolutely is an issue in our world today. But fear-mongering is a bigger problem. The issue with the film’s protagonist is that his organization has greatly exaggerated their outreach. Ballard has also built his own net worth based on the fears of a niche audience through book deals, speaking engagements, and a couple questionable nonprofits.

I haven’t seen the film myself. If it’s presented as a fictional account, I have no problem with it. But if people are watching it and assuming it all actually happened, that’s bad.

Yet. This is a common propaganda tactic.

Come up with a cause/message that no one would argue with, then reel people in and slowly, subtly, start inserting the REAL message.

It is frequently used with "Support The Troops" and "Save The Animals" and "Help the Children"...no one would argue with those goals and in fact would be criticized for doing so.

But dig deeper and you will find some of these efforts are merely bait.

I saw the film yesterday and it was powerful. I don't know why anyone would be against the message that children are in danger and should be saved. Try to get past your prejudice on who made the movie.

I just saw the film. It was excellent and is based upon a true story. Child trafficking is an issue that we need to address as the US is the larger market of human trafficking.

I hate to think anyone is against raising awareness of this issue. Why are MSM sources vilifying the film?

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t seen it, but there is a trailer for it, so it can’t be that secretive. It was made Angel Studios who I would assume do mostly Christian based programming & probably don’t have very big budgets.

It’s based on a true story of Tim Ballard who I have read about. He worked for Homeland Security and then founded Operation Underground Railroad to rescue kids from human trafficking.

There are extremists on most issues, but that doesn’t mean that it invalidates the issue itself. I don’t think this has anything to do with qanon beliefs even if qanon people are getting behind it.

I would hope that we can all agree that human trafficking is real & horrendous & needs to be addressed. I can’t imagine not supporting anyone doing what they can to help with that issue even if I didn’t agree with all of their beliefs.

+1. People really need to stop reflexively being against anything that the "other side" is for. Otherwise you're going to argue insane things like "only weirdos are against child sex trafficking."

I haven’t seen it, but there is a trailer for it, so it can’t be that secretive. It was made Angel Studios who I would assume do mostly Christian based programming & probably don’t have very big budgets.

It’s based on a true story of Tim Ballard who I have read about. He worked for Homeland Security and then founded Operation Underground Railroad to rescue kids from human trafficking.

There are extremists on most issues, but that doesn’t mean that it invalidates the issue itself. I don’t think this has anything to do with qanon beliefs even if qanon people are getting behind it.

I would hope that we can all agree that human trafficking is real & horrendous & needs to be addressed. I can’t imagine not supporting anyone doing what they can to help with that issue even if I didn’t agree with all of their beliefs.

Has anyone seen the movie and have an opinion? I am curious about it.

The only people I see promoting it are qanon-adjacent wackos. I assume they’re “spreading important news” to us sheeple.

I am in a rather large FB group and saw these reccs/ads from folks but distinctly without anything specific on plot. What kind of marketing campaign is that called and what's the purpose? Feels like propaganda.