‘Sound of Freedom’ Amazon streaming debut sparks fresh backlash

Sound of Freedom’s addition to Amazon’s Prime Video service has reignited conflict over the controversial movie.

The independent film about child sex trafficking was the surprise box office hit of 2023 and will likely finish the year as the 10th highest grossing film, behind the likes of Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Currently sitting at number four on Prime Video’s real time most watched list, some of its fans want to see it hit number one. But its critics argued it should not be available to watch at all.

“Just in case you haven’t seen it, Sound of Freedom is free on Amazon Prime, and is #4 in the US. Make it #1,” wrote one fan on X, formerly Twitter.

Sound of Freedom is based on the work of former Homeland Security officer Tim Ballard, who founded Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R) to combat child trafficking.

Upon its debut in cinemas, the movie was criticized by experts who claimed its portrayal of child trafficking was inaccurate and others for allegedly promoting right-wing conspiracy theories, particularly QAnon.

QAnon is a conspiracy movement that began in 2017 and peddled a number of theories including that a group of Satanic human cannibals secretly operate a worldwide child sex trafficking ring while uniting in a plot against former President Donald Trump.

“.@PrimeVideo can f*** right off trying to make Q-friendly jim caviezel’s extremist bulls*** look mainstream by forcing his movie to the top of my screen,” complained one person on X.

“Right wing conspiracy theory film Sound of Freedom is on@amazon Prime. Why?!?!? The subject of the film, Tim Ballard is the target of a lawsuit claiming he committed sexual assault against five women involved in missions,” wrote another person on X.

Ballard denied any links to QAnon, but he came under scrutiny himself for alleged misconduct while completing missions with O.U.R and was later removed as director of the organization which has claimed to cut ties with him. Ballard called the accusations “baseless inventions” and was also ex-communicated by the Mormon church, but it is not known whether it was over the alleged sexual misconduct.

Another O.U.R operative and Sound of Freedom producer, Paul Hutchinson, was accused of groping an underage girl while on a mission in Mexico.

Meanwhile, one of the movie’s funders, Fabian Marta, was accused of child kidnapping in August. But the charges were dropped in October after the court learned it was a misunderstanding between family members.

Christine Bertelson, the circuit court’s public information officer, explained “there was no kidnapping,” in a statement to USA Today.

But the controversies did not end there, with the film’s main producer and actor, Eduardo Verástegui, coming under fire for a seemingly violent threat against the LGBTQ+ community and climate change campaigners.

Verástegui, who is running for the Mexican presidency as an independent candidate, posted a video to his social media showing him shooting a target with the caption, “Look at what we are going to do to the terrorists of the 2030 agenda, climate change and gender ideology.”

But on the other side of the debate are Sound of Freedom’s supporters who claimed there was a conspiracy to silence the film and pointed to technical glitches at some theaters screening it as proof.

“Just watched The Sound of Freedom. Truly a very moving film. I remain astonished that there are people who have a serious problem with it having been made,” wrote one fan on X after it launched on Prime Video.

UPDATE 12/29/2023, 9:51 a.m. ET. This article was updated to include information about Marta’s charges being dropped.