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==Criticism==
==Criticism==
The group says it disavows conspiracy theories.><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=WWE Referee, Wrestler-Turned-Mayor Fundraise For QAnon-Adjacent Charity|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dzx88/wwe-referee-wrestler-turned-mayor-fundraise-for-qanon-adjacent-charity|access-date=June 5, 2021|website=www.vice.com|date=September 29, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520033802/https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dzx88/wwe-referee-wrestler-turned-mayor-fundraise-for-qanon-adjacent-charity|url-status=live}}</ref>
A September 2020 [[Vice News|''Vice News'']] article described O.U.R. as a "[[QAnon]]-adjacent charity," and claimed the "organization has embraced followers of that particular baseless conspiracy theory, rather than condemning it the way that other anti-trafficking charities have." Ballard told [[The New York Times|''The New York Times'']], "Some of these theories have allowed people to open their eyes. So now it's our job to flood the space with real information so the facts can be shared."<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Roose|first=Kevin|date=2020-08-12|title=QAnon Followers Are Hijacking the #SaveTheChildren Movement|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/technology/qanon-save-the-children-trafficking.html|access-date=2021-06-05|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2020-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812091409/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/technology/qanon-save-the-children-trafficking.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Donald Trump Is Gone, But QAnon's Sex Trafficking Conspiracies Are Here To Stay|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/qanon-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-extremism|access-date=2021-06-05|website=BuzzFeed News|date=23 April 2021 |language=en|archive-date=2021-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603225730/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/qanon-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-extremism|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=WWE Referee, Wrestler-Turned-Mayor Fundraise For QAnon-Adjacent Charity|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dzx88/wwe-referee-wrestler-turned-mayor-fundraise-for-qanon-adjacent-charity|access-date=June 5, 2021|website=www.vice.com|date=September 29, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520033802/https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dzx88/wwe-referee-wrestler-turned-mayor-fundraise-for-qanon-adjacent-charity|url-status=live}}</ref>

A September 2020 [[Vice News|''Vice News'']] article described O.U.R. as a "[[QAnon]]-adjacent charity," and claimed the "organization has embraced followers of that particular baseless conspiracy theory, rather than condemning it the way that other anti-trafficking charities have," even though the organization claimed no association with the group. Ballard told [[The New York Times|''The New York Times'']], "Some of these theories have allowed people to open their eyes. So now it's our job to flood the space with real information so the facts can be shared."<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Roose|first=Kevin|date=2020-08-12|title=QAnon Followers Are Hijacking the #SaveTheChildren Movement|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/technology/qanon-save-the-children-trafficking.html|access-date=2021-06-05|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2020-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812091409/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/technology/qanon-save-the-children-trafficking.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Donald Trump Is Gone, But QAnon's Sex Trafficking Conspiracies Are Here To Stay|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/qanon-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-extremism|access-date=2021-06-05|website=BuzzFeed News|date=23 April 2021 |language=en|archive-date=2021-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603225730/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/qanon-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-extremism|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3" />


In a December 2020 article, ''Vice News'' said that Tim Ballard embellished O.U.R.'s role in the rescue of a trafficked woman, stating that they did not find "outright falsehoods but a pattern of image-burnishing and mythology-building, a series of exaggerations that are, in the aggregate, quite misleading".<ref name="vice">{{cite news |last=Merlan |first=Anna |title=A Famed Anti-Sex Trafficking Group Has a Problem With the Truth |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3qw/a-famed-anti-sex-trafficking-group-has-a-problem-with-the-truth |access-date=December 24, 2020 |work=[[Vice News]] |date=December 10, 2020 |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224001855/https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3qw/a-famed-anti-sex-trafficking-group-has-a-problem-with-the-truth |url-status=live }}</ref>
In a December 2020 article, ''Vice News'' said that Tim Ballard embellished O.U.R.'s role in the rescue of a trafficked woman, stating that they did not find "outright falsehoods but a pattern of image-burnishing and mythology-building, a series of exaggerations that are, in the aggregate, quite misleading".<ref name="vice">{{cite news |last=Merlan |first=Anna |title=A Famed Anti-Sex Trafficking Group Has a Problem With the Truth |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3qw/a-famed-anti-sex-trafficking-group-has-a-problem-with-the-truth |access-date=December 24, 2020 |work=[[Vice News]] |date=December 10, 2020 |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224001855/https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3qw/a-famed-anti-sex-trafficking-group-has-a-problem-with-the-truth |url-status=live }}</ref>

Revision as of 17:44, 16 July 2023

Operation Underground Railroad
AbbreviationO.U.R.
Named afterUnderground Railroad
FoundedOctober 2013
FounderTimothy Ballard
Founded atSalt Lake City, Utah
TypeNon-governmental organization, non-profit organization
46-3614979
FocusHumanitarian
HeadquartersAnaheim, California
Area served
Global
Key people
Tim Ballard
Websiteourrescue.org
An Operation Underground Railroad information tent in 2018

Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) is a United States-based anti-sex trafficking nonprofit organization.[1] It has conducted multiple sting operations, some outside the United States, and donated technological and monetary resources to law-enforcement agencies that combat sex trafficking.[1][2] The organization has been criticised for its conduct during sting operations and for exaggerated claims regarding its work.[1][3]

History

Founder Tim Ballard in 2018

Operation Underground Railroad was founded in 2013 by Tim Ballard.[1][4]

Ballard has said that, prior to founding O.U.R., he served 12 years as a U.S. Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security, on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) and the U.S. Child Sex Tourism Jump Team. According to The Atlantic, "spokespeople for the CIA and DHS said they could not confirm Ballard's employment record without his written permission, which he did not provide."[5] According to Ballard, he was frustrated with the lack of strategies employed to rescue kidnapped and trafficked children in underdeveloped nations, and the inability to prosecute offenders in non-U.S. related cases.[6][7] Subsequently, he left government service in October 2013 to found Operation Underground Railroad.[6][7][8]

CharityWatch gives O.U.R. a question mark rating because the organization does not disclose financial information.[9] In February 2016, the Justice Department advised members of ICAC against "being involved in, assisting or supporting operations with" O.U.R. The commander of ICAC's Washington branch stated in an email to state and local police that O.U.R. was not affiliated with ICAC and that "no task-force group should partner with O.U.R. or provide O.U.R. with 'any resources, equipment, personnel, training.'"[10]

Operations

O.U.R. supplies a data mining platform "which they deploy against networks that child traffickers and pedophiles use to communicate with each other."[6][11][8][12]

International operations

In 2014, O.U.R. participated in a sting operation in Cartagena, Colombia.[13][7] In April 2022, O.U.R. members attended an anti-trafficking summit in Cartagena, Colombia.[14]

In 2022, O.U.R. also provided investigative and undercover support in the arrests of pro-pedophilia activists Nelson Maatman, who fled to Mexico, and Marthijn Uittenbogaard and his partner, who both fled to Ecuador.[15][16]

In August 2022, O.U.R. supported an operation in the Dominican Republic involving raids, the arrest of 14 suspects, and over 200 law enforcement agents.[17]

Law enforcement support

Between 2015 and 2018, O.U.R. donated more than $170,000 to Washington State Patrol's "Net Nanny" sting program. The money was used for "additional detectives, hotels, food and overtime."[10] Sergeant Carlos Rodriguez, the initiator of the sting program arranged positive media coverage for O.U.R.,[10] solicited donations for them,[18] and, upon his retirement in 2019, was employed by O.U.R. as their domestic coordinator.[10]

O.U.R. bought over 50 dogs trained to detect electronic storage devices from Jordan Detection K9 and donated them to police departments in several U.S. states and Thailand.[19][20]

Aftercare

O.U.R. says it runs a non-profit aftercare program,[21] providing medical and psychological services, education, and vocational opportunities to survivors.[22] In January 2022, O.U.R. stated that in 2021 it provided aftercare in 30 countries.[23] In February 2020, O.U.R. paid for an adopted Wisconsin woman to visit her biological parents after she discovered that she had been stolen from them as a baby and trafficked through orphanage fraud. Her birth parents were poor Romanian farmers that had since moved to Italy.[24]

According to Foreign Policy, in 2014, "after OUR’s first operation in the Dominican Republic, a local organization called the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI when abbreviated in Spanish) quickly discovered it didn’t have the capacity to handle the 26 girls rescued. They were released in less than a week."[8]

In media

In 2016, The Abolitionists, a documentary produced by Gerald Molen, featured the first operations undertaken by Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.[25] Another documentary from director Nick Nanton, Operation Toussaint,[26] was produced in 2018 which featured an operation in Haiti that had the support of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and former U.S. congresswoman Mia Love of Utah.[27] Deseret News movie critic Josh Terry described Operation Toussaint as "an engrossing and expert production" but also said it "feels more like a promotional film than a strictly traditional documentary."[28] Two documentaries, Operation Toussaint in 2018 and Triple Take in 2020, were filmed about sting operations in Haiti and Colombia.[29][30]

A feature film, Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel as Ballard, was announced in 2018,[31][32] and released in theaters in 2023.[33][34] Slate's movie review said that the movie appears to be "a straightforward search-and-rescue thriller, in which Ballard, a special agent at the Department of Homeland Security, goes rogue to free a young girl from the clutches of a Colombian sex-trafficking ring. But it arrived in theaters surrounded by a cloud of innuendo put forth by its star and its noisiest right-wing supporters—conspiratorial insinuations about who doesn’t want this story to be told and what real-world traffickers are really up to."[35]

Publicity and celebrity endorsements

Corbin Kaufusi, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, and Tony Robbins have helped raise funds for O.U.R.[36][37] In July 2021, O.U.R. partnered with a Ft. Myers, Florida, Harley-Davidson dealership in organizing a "freedom ride to raise awareness about child sex trafficking."[38] In 2018, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin went to Haiti "for a first-hand experience" with O.U.R., which was filmed for ESPN.[39]

Criticism

A September 2020 Vice News article described O.U.R. as a "QAnon-adjacent charity," and claimed the "organization has embraced followers of that particular baseless conspiracy theory, rather than condemning it the way that other anti-trafficking charities have." Ballard told The New York Times, "Some of these theories have allowed people to open their eyes. So now it's our job to flood the space with real information so the facts can be shared."[40][41][42]

In a December 2020 article, Vice News said that Tim Ballard embellished O.U.R.'s role in the rescue of a trafficked woman, stating that they did not find "outright falsehoods but a pattern of image-burnishing and mythology-building, a series of exaggerations that are, in the aggregate, quite misleading".[1]

A 2021 follow-up article further criticized O.U.R.'s practices, including using inexperienced donors and celebrities as part of its jump team, a lack of meaningful surveillance or identification of targets, failing to validate whether the people they intended to rescue were in fact actual trafficking victims, and conflating consensual sex work with sex trafficking.[43] O.U.R.'s CEO Ballard reportedly consulted a psychic for intelligence on one mission on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.[43]

A 2021 article in Slate criticized an armed 2014 raid conducted by O.U.R. in the Dominican Republic, which was filmed live by a camera crew to use in a proposed reality TV show, saying that it was likely to have traumatized the trafficked children.[3] The children rescued in the raid were released a few weeks later, without having received the three months of rehabilitative care that was hoped to be provided.[44] Anne Gallagher, "the leading global expert on the international law on human trafficking",[45] wrote in 2015 that O.U.R. had an “alarming lack of understanding about how sophisticated criminal trafficking networks must be approached and dismantled” and called the work of O.U.R “arrogant, unethical and illegal".[3][46]

In June 2022, O.U.R. announced on its Twitter and Facebook accounts as well as on Ballard's Instagram account that O.U.R. had "partnered" with American Airlines and that the airline would show a video about O.U.R.'s work on all domestic flights that month. American Airlines said that they had never had a partnership or affiliation with O.U.R or ever shown any of their videos, and that they were "taking appropriate action to have these posts removed".[47]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Merlan, Anna (December 10, 2020). "A Famed Anti-Sex Trafficking Group Has a Problem With the Truth". Vice News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  2. ^ Hartman, Taylor (October 22, 2021). "Claims of Utah group's involvement in child exploitation investigations under scrutiny". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Conley, Meg (May 11, 2021). "Called by God". Slate (magazine). Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Hanson, Kurt. "Operation Underground Railroad: Saves lives in ways most can't". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  5. ^ Tiffany, Kaitlin (December 9, 2021). "The Great (Fake) Child-Sex-Trafficking Epidemic". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Byrne Reilly, Richard (2014-04-26). "Tech startup Operation Underground Railroad is saving kids from human traffickers". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  7. ^ a b c Burleigh, Nina (December 14, 2015). "Inside The Fight Against Child Sex Trafficking". Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "The New Abolitionists". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  9. ^ "Operation Underground Railway". CharityWatch. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d Winerip, Michael (September 28, 2021). "Convicted of Sex Crimes, but With No Victims". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  11. ^ "Rescuing Children from Sex Slavery: One Mormon's Inspired Mission". LDS Living. 2015-02-27. Archived from the original on 2016-05-14. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  12. ^ Grant, Melissa Gira (19 August 2020). "QAnon Is Using the Anti-Trafficking Movement's Conspiracy Playbook". The New Republic. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Rescuing Children From Colombia's Sex Trafficking Trade". ABC News. 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  14. ^ "With US agents, they seek to dismantle sexual exploitation networks". EL HERALDO (in Spanish). April 6, 2022. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  15. ^ "Gevluchte Nederlandse pedofielen opgepakt in Ecuador". Telegraaf.nl. 24 Jun 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ^ "Electronic-sniffing dog helps in pedophilia arrest in Mexico". AP NEWS. 15 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Network caught trafficking women in Operation Cattleya". listindiario.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-11. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  18. ^ Sokol, Chad (July 11, 2016). "Thirteen arrested in sting targeting child rapists in Spokane County". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  19. ^ "Electronic Detection Deployed Dogs". Jordan Detection K9. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  20. ^ Armstrong, Kiah (January 19, 2022). "Woods Cross Police now have a K-9 trained to sniff out child sexual assault material". Channel 4. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  21. ^ "Abuse Relief Corps merges with O. U. R. to become Operation Underground Railroad Ghana". www.ghanaweb.com. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  22. ^ Toone, Trent (14 June 2019). "Operation Underground Railroad aftercare director gives training on how to spot a trafficker". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  23. ^ "The Journal of Nonprofit Innovation" (PDF). January 1, 2022. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  24. ^ Ritschel, Chelsea (February 27, 2020). "American woman reunited with family 25 years after she was trafficked as an infant". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  25. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2015-06-01). "'Abolitionists' Documentary Series About Rescuing Kids From Sex Slavery Shopped". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  26. ^ Blair, Rebecca (6 December 2019). "Documentary Showcase on Scientology Network Draws Back Curtain on World of Child Sex Trafficking". World Religion News. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  27. ^ Armstrong, Jamie (2017-06-02). "LDS Congresswoman, Operation Underground Railroad Founder Meet with President of Haiti to Address Human Trafficking". LDS Living. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  28. ^ Terry, Josh (July 27, 2018). "Movie review: Gripping 'Operation Toussaint' shows Tim Ballard's real-life battle against sex trafficking". Deseret News. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  29. ^ Terry, Josh (July 26, 2018). "Movie review: Gripping 'Operation Toussaint' shows Tim Ballard's real-life battle against sex trafficking". Deseret News.
  30. ^ Briccetti, Peter (July 30, 2020). "Operation Triple Take Fails to Address Systemic Issues with Child Sex-Trafficking". Whistleblower Network News.
  31. ^ Bond, Paul (September 6, 2016). "Child Sex Trafficking Explored in New Doc 'Abolitionists' (Exclusive Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  32. ^ Bond, Paul (15 June 2018). "Blockchain Platform TaTaTu to Co-Finance 'Sound of Freedom'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  33. ^ Bramesco, Charles (July 6, 2023). "Sound of Freedom: the QAnon-adjacent thriller seducing America". The Guardian. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  34. ^ Bramesco, Charles (July 7, 2023). "'Sound Of Freedom' Is a Superhero Movie for Dads With Brainworms". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  35. ^ Adams, Sam (July 10, 2023). "I Saw the Grim Child-Trafficking Movie That's Filling Theaters". Slate (magazine). Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  36. ^ Ireland, Kyle (February 4, 2021). "Niners Lineman Corbin Kaufusi Plays Fortnite With Ninja For Operation Underground Railroad". KSLsports.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  37. ^ Genovese, Daniella (March 6, 2020). "Tony Robbins raises $18M for charity with 60th birthday bash". Fox Business. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  38. ^ Guerrero, Andrea (July 24, 2021). "Operation Underground Railroad ride set to begin Saturday for human trafficking awareness". WINK-TV. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  39. ^ Kozora, Alex (September 21, 2019). "Mike Tomlin Talks Traveling To Haiti To Fight Human Trafficking". Steelers Depot. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  40. ^ Roose, Kevin (2020-08-12). "QAnon Followers Are Hijacking the #SaveTheChildren Movement". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  41. ^ "Donald Trump Is Gone, But QAnon's Sex Trafficking Conspiracies Are Here To Stay". BuzzFeed News. 23 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  42. ^ "WWE Referee, Wrestler-Turned-Mayor Fundraise For QAnon-Adjacent Charity". www.vice.com. September 29, 2020. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  43. ^ a b "Inside a Massive Anti-Trafficking Charity's Blundering Overseas Missions". Vice News. March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  44. ^ Stackpole, Thomas (July 22, 2015). "The New Abolitionists". Foreign Policy. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  45. ^ Jackman, Tom (September 23, 2016). "Hunting for sex-traffickers abroad — by posing as johns". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  46. ^ Gallagher, Anne (July 31, 2015). "Chasing the Slave Traders: A Law Enforcement Perspective on Operation Underground Railroad". HuffPost. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  47. ^ Merlan, Anna (June 10, 2022). "Operation Underground Railroad Touts Non-Existent Partnership With American Airlines". Vice News. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
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