Tim Ballard

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, Calm said:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/july/anti-trafficking-ministries-nonprofits-sound-of-freedom.html
 

 

Calm, you always seem to find the links that are important to know! I'm glad you're on the case!

Inexperienced OUR people having a trafficker find as many young girls as possible to bring to an island, is so irresponsible and criminal. I wish I had the reference but I had read that girls were found and taken into being trafficked that weren't yet in the system. So if true, then this is sickening. 

From the article:

Some of the trafficking fighting methods depicted in the film—creating an island where Ballard and his team ask traffickers to bring children, or one character buying children out of sex trafficking to free them—could inadvertently create more demand for trafficking children and worsen the problem.

“You can’t help but ask the question, ‘Did they go take more kids away from their families in their communities to come meet this demand?’” said Shaw from Frontline Response. “It’s complicated.”

Edited September 18, 2023 by Tacenda

[smac97]

48 minutes ago, Calm said:

Charity Navigator also linked to this article:

Quote

Campbell worries the picture of trafficking and how to address it presented by Operation Underground Railroad and, by extension, Sound of Freedom, diverts people's attention, resources and policy proposals away from where they're most needed.

"It becomes easy for people to say, 'Well, if I just spread a message that we need to support law enforcement in freeing these child victims,' they don't have to do the hard work of asking what role they play in the purchasing of goods for forced labor, or they don't have to play the hard role of figuring out how do we reduce poverty and the sort of inherent vulnerability that comes with poverty that leads to this kind of exploitation," she said.

"Those difficult questions are never asked because we're just sort of saying, 'Well, the best thing you can do is support this particular group in this one particular action against these particular bad guys.'"

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188405402/qanon-supporters-are-promoting-sound-of-freedom-heres-why

We see the same thing in California with its homeless crisis.  People feel good about donating money, and the government spends billions and billions, but in the process that state is avoiding the "hard work" involved in addressing homelessness, and instead has created perverse incentives for some apparatchiks to perpetuate it.

Improving society is hard.  We sometimes lack the patience for it, or the willingness to put our efforts where they will do the most good.  We focus on what we want to do and see, as opposed to what we ought to do.  

I think this is dilemma is a material factor in the day-to-day decisions made by the Presiding Bishopric in terms of administering the Church's humanitarian and philanthropic efforts.  Bystanders and lookyloos take a superficial "just give your money away!" approach in their criticisms of how the Church operates in these sectors, and fail to given sufficient attention and consideration to the need for the Church to carefully vet its partners in humanitarian outreach efforts.  

I think that critics who focus on such simplistic demands and expectations are, likely unwittingly, attempting to push the Church into "divert{ing} people's attention, resources and policy proposals away from where they're most needed."

As for OUR, I'm increasingly skeptical of it.  I admire its aims and ambitions, but I question its means and processes and results.

Thanks,

-Smac

Edited September 18, 2023 by smac97

[Calm]

14 minutes ago, smac97 said:

That seems to have been what they were trying to do.  

Hence my question about why, if they believe the allegations of sexual misconduct against Tim Ballard are credible, did OUR not report them to law enforcement.

Meaning you would like to somehow get a documented answer to your question?  As opposed to speculation about reasons they wouldn’t since not damaging their own reputation is a huge reason.

[Calm]

14 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

Inexperienced OUR people having a trafficker find as many young girls as possible to bring to an island, is so irresponsible and criminal. I wish I had the reference but I had read that girls were found and taken into being trafficked that weren't yet in the system. So if true, then this is sickening. 

It was in the New Abolitionists’ article in Foreign Policy, but I am pretty sure I saw it elsewhere too.

The Slate article linked to the FP article to provide support for that claim iirc.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Calm

[smac97]

1 minute ago, Calm said:

Quote

 

That seems to have been what they were trying to do.  

Hence my question about why, if they believe the allegations of sexual misconduct against Tim Ballard are credible, did OUR not report them to law enforcement.

 

Meaning you would like to somehow get a documented answer to your question?  

Meaning I think OUR has some 'splainin to do (as does Tim Ballard).

Yes, I would like to see a documented answer to my question.  If we are putting Tim Ballard's feet to the fire, perhaps we should do the same with OUR.

1 minute ago, Calm said:

As opposed to speculation about reasons they wouldn’t since not damaging their own reputation is a huge reason.

We all of us our bringing various news items into this thread, which is becoming a clearinghouse of useful information, including about what we don't know.

Thanks,

-Smac

[Calm]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

An equally logical and plausible inference is that OUR found these allegations to lack credibility/evidence (and, therefore, did not report them to law enforcement), but that they were sufficient to do reputational harm to Tim Ballard, and so used them to force him out of the organization.  

It wouldn't be the first time an organization did such a thing.

Thanks,

-Smac

This does not sound like they found the allegations to lack credibility:

Quote

“It was ultimately revealed through disturbingly specific and parallel accounts, that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating multiple women for the past few years with the ultimate intent of coercing them to participate in sexual acts with him, under the premise of going where it takes and doing ‘whatever it takes’ to save a child.”

 

[smac97]

24 minutes ago, Calm said:

Quote

An equally logical and plausible inference is that OUR found these allegations to lack credibility/evidence (and, therefore, did not report them to law enforcement), but that they were sufficient to do reputational harm to Tim Ballard, and so used them to force him out of the organization.  

It wouldn't be the first time an organization did such a thing.

This does not sound like they found the allegations to lack credibility:

Quote

“It was ultimately revealed through disturbingly specific and parallel accounts, that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating multiple women for the past few years with the ultimate intent of coercing them to participate in sexual acts with him, under the premise of going where it takes and doing ‘whatever it takes’ to save a child.”

 

Well, then this takes us back to: If they found the allegations credible, why did they not report the matter to law enforcement?

Also, why did these allegations apparently not surface during the extensive investigation of Tim Ballard by law enforcement?

Thanks,

-Smac

[smac97]

Two more articles:

Slate: Sound of Freedom’s Tim Ballard Is a Star on the Right. Why Would His Church Denounce Him?

They couch the issue is almost purely political terms:

Quote

Even with this news, the dispute between Ballard and the church might appear odd to many observers. The LDS church is more commonly known for cracking down on progressive voices, after all.

Yet there has been a growing divide between the LDS church and far-right-wing members for over a decade now. The radicalization of American conservatism—with its denunciation of mainstream news sources, forfeiture of traditional norms, and embrace of partisan-based “alternative facts”—has had severe consequences within Mormon culture. The erupting fight between Ballard, a growing hero on the far right, and Latter-day Saints leaders is just one point of public exposure for a much broader phenomenon.
...

Latter-day Saints, who had long been a target of American evangelicals who deemed their religion invalid, suddenly became their compatriots in battle during the culture wars of the 1970s and 1980s. Due to their ability to deliver on key social issues, like opposition to the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, they were folded into the coalition known as the religious right. This granted the faith new social acceptance and cultural power. However, it also resulted in increasingly blurred boundaries between religious authority and far-right principles. As with white evangelicals, the doctrine of partisanship became inseparable from the doctrine of Christ.

Such an overlap makes it difficult, therefore, when the two spheres come into conflict. It explains why, for instance, so many American Mormons were hesitant to follow the church’s counsel to get vaccinated and wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explains why Mormons came in second to white evangelicals in polls determining which denominations were most likely to believe Donald Trump’s lies concerning the 2020 election.
...

Tim Ballard has made a career by cultivating a certain image. He is a “patriot” dedicated to saving women and children from nefarious evils in the world. Ballard frequently speaks of global cabals dedicated to feasting on the innocent; observers have often identified how much of his discourse relates closely to QAnon conspiracies. Operation Underground Railroad, founded in 2013, claims to have emancipated more than 6,000 women and children and to have helped capture over 5,000 criminals. Yet experts have disputed these claims and have argued that OUR’s approach does more harm than good in the field.

Not that this criticism bothers Ballard. In his carefully cultivated narrative, Ballard is the strong man who is standing up to waves of misinformation as a heroic truth-teller. In the past few years he’s become a rising star in the right-wing mediaverse, meeting with Donald Trump in the White House and testifying before Congress, as well as a global celebrity through Sound of Freedom.

Ballard’s brand of revisionist truth-telling has been especially popular within the LDS community. He wrote a series of books, marketed by the Latter-day Saints publisher Deseret Books, on America’s founding figures—the pilgrims, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln—that utterly dismiss existing scholarship. Washington, Ballard argues, was visited by the Angel Moroni, the same divine figure who delivered the gold plates to Joseph Smith; Lincoln, conversely, was inspired to write the Emancipation Proclamation after reading the Book of Mormon.
...

Ballard’s first public remarks after the church’s statement last week came in what appears to be a well-choreographed monologue at a Revolutionary War monument in Boston. The site, indeed, symbolizes secession. “It’s not true,” he insisted, dismissing the allegations that he was using Apostle Ballard’s name in an unauthorized way. “All the press” was spreading lies. While at first he said, “I don’t believe the church did this,” Ballard’s speech eventually came to a crescendo, describing a grand conspiracy. It was not a coincidence, he claimed, that there was a coordinated attempt to smear his name just as it became known he might run for the Senate. “I pray to God,” he concluded, that the church “wasn’t part of this.”

“Thank you for filming,” Ballard told those gathered around him by the monument. He encouraged them to send their videos to news outlets. Ballard is nothing if not a showman.

Others were quick to back him up. Far-right media personality Glenn Beck, who is also a Latter-day Saint, offered his support on X in a since-deleted thread, claiming that “effectively excommunicat[ing] church members” was something his “church never used to do.” (The thread was deleted within hours of being posted, before Vice published the sexual misconduct allegations on Monday.) And social media was filled with accusations that Vice had made up the statement (despite it being confirmed by other outlets), that the statement was given by a rogue public relations worker, or that church leaders had lost their spine.

It is yet to be seen what the entire fallout will be. But whether or not Ballard publicly breaks with the church, the dispute is yet another example of conservative angst within an evolving church that continues to wrestle with how to control its members. As the Latter-day Saints tradition remains firmly entrenched within America’s far-right circles, disputes over final authority, historical truth, and moral initiatives will continue to be contested space.

Yeesh.

Salt Lake Tribune: LDS Church didn’t denounce me, Tim Ballard fires back

Nothing in this one that we have not covered in this thread.  

Thanks,

-Smac

[The Nehor]

6 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Well, then this takes us back to: If they found the allegations credible, why did they not report the matter to law enforcement?

Also, why did these allegations apparently not surface during the extensive investigation of Tim Ballard by law enforcement?

Thanks,

-Smac

Because many of those behaviors are not criminal on their own and others would be difficult to prove?

[smac97]

1 minute ago, The Nehor said:

Quote

Well, then this takes us back to: If they found the allegations credible, why did they not report the matter to law enforcement?

Also, why did these allegations apparently not surface during the extensive investigation of Tim Ballard by law enforcement?

Because many of those behaviors are not criminal on their own and others would be difficult to prove?

Credible, but "difficult to prove."  Yes, I could see that.  And "the victims don't want to press charges" is another plausible explanation.

I'm just wondering if these are sufficient.  The prosecutor purportedly has 10,000 pages of documents about the supposed involvement of a "psychic" in OUR operations, but zero information or allegations re: Tim Ballard transporting women overseas and coercing them into showering with him and sleeping in the same bed as him?  The omission seems . . . odd.

Thanks,

-Smac

 

[Smiley McGee]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

Hence my question about why, if they believe the allegations of sexual misconduct against Tim Ballard are credible, did OUR not report them to law enforcement.

 

Yes, why don’t organizations report sexual misconduct to law enforcement? Are you being intentionally obtuse?

Edited September 18, 2023 by Smiley McGee

[Calm]

Quote

As the Latter-day Saints tradition remains firmly entrenched within America’s far-right circles,

What the heck?

[The Nehor]

14 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Credible, but "difficult to prove."  Yes, I could see that.  And "the victims don't want to press charges" is another plausible explanation.

I'm just wondering if these are sufficient.  The prosecutor purportedly has 10,000 pages of documents about the supposed involvement of a "psychic" in OUR operations, but zero information or allegations re: Tim Ballard transporting women overseas and coercing them into showering with him and sleeping in the same bed as him?  The omission seems . . . odd.

Thanks,

-Smac

 

It becomes a he said/she said between she did it willingly and he manipulated her in a predatory manner. Unless the people actually bugged the room and recorded it it would be hard to substantiate.

[Calm]

18 minutes ago, smac97 said:

The prosecutor purportedly has 10,000 pages of documents about the supposed involvement of a "psychic" in OUR operations, but zero information or allegations re: Tim Ballard transporting women overseas and coercing them into showering with him and sleeping in the same bed as him?  The omission seems . . . odd.

Possibly the 10,000 pages include communications between Russon and other officers of the company, possibly involving work related to her title, not just psychic readings.

Quote

Janet Russon works as a Executive Director of Children Need Families at Operation Underground Railroad, which is a Non-Profit & Charitable Organizations company with an estimated 37 employees; and founded in 2013., their management level is Director. Janet is currently based in Provo, United States.

https://www.datanyze.com/people/Janet-Russon/5571619450

Edited September 18, 2023 by Calm

[Calm]

This link contains a mass of background material I have no time to go into at the moment.  I have no clue about the abilities of this writer (her conclusion Lynn Packer is a well known figure among Saints is not the best, imo, though I have seen a lot of references to him among the critical post Mormon online groups over the years).

She has apparently spent a massive amount of time trying to piece together what is actually going on.  As I said before, I cannot tell her success rate (especially since I’ve had a little of it so far), but she links (always useful).

https://laurarbnsn.substack.com/p/dont-give-your-money-to-operation?

[Calm]

Smac, Lynn Packer speculates what may be in the criminal investigation (the settlement with Doterra) documents.  I would be interested in hearing if you find it.  The focus is more on doterra and goes half the video, not really important for you to watch it, I just would like to know if you find any info about the settlement between the two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smSmuZS_SPk&t=1364s

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm

[Calm]

What a bizarre self presentation of someone who got a bump from over $300,000 a year to over $500,000 a year….like they forced him to take the money as CEO, including a rather nice pay raise.

Quote

“When I originally founded Operation Underground Railroad, it was always my goal to become a volunteer and not take any donor dollars for myself. Now that it is finally happening, I couldn’t be happier. With this change, I expect to put as much time into O.U.R. as ever before.” Ballard said. 

https://ourrescue.org/blog/operation-underground-railroad-restructures-for-growth

[Tacenda]

This has probably been shared, but here is more on sexual allegations. I'm wondering if Tim just needs to fess up. https://www.thewrap.com/tim-ballard-sound-of-freedom-operation-underground-railroad-sexual-misconduct-investigation/

Edited September 19, 2023 by Tacenda

[Calm]

5 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

This has probably been shared, but here is more on sexual allegations. I'm wondering if Tim just needs to fess up. https://www.thewrap.com/tim-ballard-sound-of-freedom-operation-underground-railroad-sexual-misconduct-investigation/

He would be stupid to unless women are willing to be named.

[Calm]

4 hours ago, smac97 said:

Could you point me to this information?  Threats from whom?

5 hours ago, Calm said:

My bad, not “death threats”, but “retaliation” which my brain translated into death threats, I am guessing.

Quote

The Vice report did not name the women and they did not respond to request for comment, or have declined to comment. Additionally, individuals who know the women say “they fear retaliation and the effects scandal could have on OUR as it seeks to move on without Ballard—whom sources say is currently trying to work his way back into the organization,” according to Vice.

My bold…

So it’s from the Vice article but quoted in Tacenda’s link (thanks for posting that as I was trying to find it and failing due to misremembering phrasing).

[smac97]

5 minutes ago, Calm said:

My bad, not “death threats”, but “retaliation” which my brain translated into death threats, I am guessing.

My bold…

Quote

Additionally, individuals who know the women say “they fear retaliation and the effects scandal could have on OUR as it seeks to move on without Ballard—whom sources say is currently trying to work his way back into the organization,” according to Vice.

So it’s from the Vice article but quoted in Tacenda’s link (thanks for posting that as I was trying to find it and failing due to misremembering phrasing).

"Retaliation" could mean all sorts of things. "Death threats," on the other hand, means just that.

If anything, the "retaliation" is framed relative to Tim "trying to work his way back into the organization," which to my mind suggests that the "retaliation" would be related to employment at OUR.

Also, this is Vice quoting "individuals who know the women" quoting (or mindreading) the women themselves.  I have a long track record on this board of noting the deficiencies of hearsay, particularly of the multiple and anonymous sort.

Thanks,

-Smac

[Calm]

6 minutes ago, smac97 said:

"Retaliation" could mean all sorts of things. "Death threats," on the other hand, means just that.

If anything, the "retaliation" is framed relative to Tim "trying to work his way back into the organization," which to my mind suggests that the "retaliation" would be related to employment at OUR.

Also, this is Vice quoting "individuals who know the women" quoting (or mindreading) the women themselves.  I have a long track record on this board of noting the deficiencies of hearsay, particularly of the multiple and anonymous sort.

Thanks,

-Smac

Good catch, I did mislead myself with this one.  Thanks.

 

[Calm]

This link is packed full of snark and accusations, so I am going to pull out what appear to be the facts (quotes from Ballard and the documented history of “Pedro”):

https://americancrimejournal.com/o-u-r-quietly-exposes-tim-ballards-big-lie/
 

The use of the necklace is, I don’t know….I feel it should be disturbing but it is almost expected at this point.  It does make for a great story.  I can see why they were tempted.

Quote

Stolen Valor: The True Story of Earl Buchanan’s arrest

For nearly ten years, Tim Ballard has told the story of “Pedro and the necklace” also known as, the O.U.R. Origin Story or Genesis (which is the arrest of Earl Buchanan) to just about anyone who would listen. As stated earlier, Operation Underground Railroad now quietly admits that their President and Founder Tim Ballard’s O.U.R. was actually lying about it….

Ballard: The boy was was kidnapped from Mexico as an infant. 

FACT: The boy’s grandmother who was raising him in Banning, California, had known Earl Venton Buchanan almost his whole life- since he (Buchanan) was a child. Buchanan would often take the boy to Mexico to visit relatives, including the boy’s mother, who Buchanan was friend’s with.

Quote

Ballard: Earl Buchanan was kidnapping children and trafficking them.

FACT: Earl Buchanan was millionaire who started as a plumber and then went into general contracting and invested in real estate. He was known to hire much of the Hispanic population and sometimes would hire illegal immigrants. This is very much a typical pedophile grooms families and victims case. 

Ballard: The boy was smuggled into the United States

FACT: Again, the boy was not from Mexico nor was he smuggled into the United States, he was an American citizen. This is a common misconception with human trafficking as they toy with the right-wing belief that to combat human trafficking you need more border security. In reality, vast majority of human trafficking, almost 99% is perpetrated by family members or close friends of the family or intimate partner of the victim.

Quote

Ballard: Earl Buchanan was taking kidnapped children to a compound in San Bernardino

FACT: Earl Buchanan had a construction compound in Banning, California, which housed equipment and vehicles. It was accessible to his workers and family, so the notion that Buchanan was taking kidnapped children to a compound to house them and film them and have “thousands of pictures everywhere” is just not sustainable or possible. Yes, Buchanan used a certain room that had a camera to film these disgusting acts against children, but the notion that pictures and chains or this was some torture-sex dungeon is simply just to play up to Evangelists and engage in right-wing fantasy, so they will shell out cash.

Ballard then goes into very specific details about his interactions with this victim of trafficking. Which is troubling, because, it simply never happened. At the same time, he makes sure a key marketing gimmick of O.U.R.’s Origin Story- the necklace. Conservative commentator Glenn Beck and Tim Ballard had debuted a replica necklace that you could buy when they first started this grift back in 2014.

Quote

Ballard: He was a 5 year-old boy. I recognized him from the video. I was like oh my gosh, I never recognized one of the kids from the video. I started to have a physiological reaction. like I don’t know if I can handle this

FACT: Ballard had no idea what was going on. He was at his office 45 minutes away. In fact, Ballard would not even receive a phone call until after Buchanan was put in custody and the boy was isolated. Which this should be the end of this report, because court records, border patrol reports and now O.U.R. claims the the depiction in the film was entirely fiction.

Quote

Ballard: The boy “inherently” knew he [Tim Ballard] was a good guy (this plays a lot into Mormon mythology) so he runs to us and jumps in our… my arms

FACT: Tim Ballard wasn’t present. He was still forty-five minutes away at his office. Ballard was a Homeland Security Investigations Agent for Homeland Security, not a Border Patrol agent. 

Ballard: He’s like holding me and shaking and I’m like oh my gosh, does he speak English? Does he speak Spanish? Does he speak both? I don’t know… and he spoke perfect English which was haunting to me because the only reason he did, is because is would be, as it turn out, he was taken as an infant… and he said to me like no five year-old should ever have to say to anybody, he said, “I don’t belong here”

FACT: Again, Ballard was not present. Not only does he lie, but he injects magic and sorcery into his absurd fantasies in an effort to perpetuate that he’s possibly been anointed with divine providence or guidance. Ballard’s fantasy and plot lines are unfit for a Lifetime movie script reject pile, but he knows Christians and MAGA republicans eat this stuff up. 

The notion that this five year-old boy somehow knew “he didn’t belong here” even though he was “kidnaped as an infant” according Ballard. According to court records and Border Patrol reports, the boy appeared distressed when separated from Buchanan (as I said). When the boy was interviewed by a physician, he denied that Earl Buchanan had touched his privates. He called Buchanan “his friend”.

Quote

Ballard: The thing that happened, call this love, providence or whatever,-to me it was special… is the little boy had a necklace.. that little boy that five year-old.. and his sister had given him the necklace when they were separated by Buchanan and it was a little dog tag and he gave it to me and I had to go find his sister now. So we did, we got her out (Ballard confirms to Lewis Howe). But he gave me the necklace.

FACT: Once again, Ballard was not present when the boy was removed from the van and Earl Buchanan was placed in custody. Ballard was called to obtain and preserve evidence. He then would interview Buchanan as a means to verify chain of custody and to obtain any type of confession to support it.

The boy’s sister, Yanelli was never kidnapped or separated from her brother. Yanelli’s presence is well documented in this case. Court records and interviews demonstrate that Buchanan often stayed at the boy’s house.

There was no necklace.

Quote

Ballard: I tried to give it{ back to him and he said no it’s yours it yours. This is when he’s hugging me, and I’m like okay so I put it in my pocket thinking nothing of it but later one of my children found it and said “where did you get this?” … I’m like uhhhh how do I tell this story to my kid, I tell my kid what I can. and he said, “isn’t it cool he put your name on the necklace dad?” I said what are you talking about my names not on the necklace!”… I flip it around and it had a little scripture from the bible on it. From the book of 1 Timothy So that was like I was gonna do am I gonna quit or am I gonna go full in? But that little boy whether he knows it or not just gave me a commission and that necklace I wore it for every operation I went on. It was like my symbol, I’m in now

FACT: The necklace is simply a marketing gimmick. Again, O.U.R. has said, the story Tim told is simply not true. Border Patrol agents did their job. This really is the end of the story. It wasn’t even Ballard’s arrest.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-12-me-molest12-story.html

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm

[Calm]

Also from the link:

Quote

For those that have followed Lynn Packer and I’s reporting and Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman from Vice News, who did a phenomenal series on Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad, uncovered a case where a girl escaped from her trafficker(s) and went to the police. Operation Underground Railroad had nothing to with her rescue and in fact, was still in its formative stage. 

The girl was named “Liliana” by Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad. Ballard would perjure himself before congress, lie to the public and then proceeded to lie to President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka’s face. 

Ballard claimed he rescued a girl who rescued herself, and over period of a few weeks had told different stories and gave different ages for Liliana. O.U.R. then marketed a Valentine’s Day card that looked as if it were designed by an 8 or 9 year-old child at best. In reality, by the time Ballard was running around claiming the big win with his Liliana tale, she was an adult. Then Ballard had the audacity to claim she designed a Valentine’s Day card to thank O.U.R. supporters

I am going to try and confirm this.

The valentine (from Feb 2019), sorry for the poor picture, I couldn’t figure out how to search the profile to find an old FB post to get an image I could move around so you could see the date.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm

[Calm]

This is the original article allegedly outing the fake Liliani story.  I couldn’t find anything better.  I skimmed through it, but couldn’t see how they figured out whose story he was borrowing, just that they couldn’t find any OUR involvement with the agencies that would have been involved with Liliani.  The story is messed up formatting on my iPad, that and my burnt out brain is making it hard to read.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3qw/a-famed-anti-sex-trafficking-group-has-a-problem-with-the-truth

Quote

Liliana is a real person. VICE World News has identified the trafficking ring she was a victim of, and the federal case in which she bravely testified against her abusers. (While she testified under a pseudonym, we are not identifying the case to further protect her privacy.) But the story she and other survivors told in court—and which helped win a conviction against their traffickers—bears little but a broad resemblance to what Ballard has said publicly about it. Crucially, contrary to an assertion OUR has made in fundraising material, Liliana wasn't found or rescued by anyone: When she was just 17, and after years of rape, psychological manipulation and physical abuse, she escaped on her own

And we are just supposed to take their word for it?  If it is so different, how do they know that is the case?  I don’t see an explanation (the page has crashed on me a few times, giving up).

Quote

The story Ballard tells about Liliana is different from the one that appears in court documents, though, and significantly more sensational in several key ways. His first public reference to her appears to have come in a January 2019 Fox News op-ed in which he quoted Nelson Mandela while arguing for the construction of a border wall…

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm