Bloomberg is under fire after publishing a scathing review of Sound of Freedom penned by a writer who has expressed sympathies for pedophiles. Noah Berlatsky called the new anti-child trafficking film a “QAnon dog whistle.”
Berlatsky’s July 15 opinion piece argues that Eduardo Verástegui’s blockbuster film, Sound of Freedom, “connect[s] conservative conspiracy theorists with the mainstream.” Berlatsky slams the film as conspiracy fodder, and claims: “That’s why Trump’s screening it. And that’s why its popularity is ominous.”
Sound of Freedom follows a US Federal Agent who rescues a boy from child traffickers before embarking on a dangerous mission to try and rescue the victim’s sister. While the film has been highly praised by audiences, earning an 8.2/10 on IMDB, some liberal outlets have condemned its anti-child trafficking message.
But Berlatsky’s review is attracting ample attention on social media as many have pointed out that he once served as the communications director for “pro-pedophilia” organization Prostasia.
Independent outlet Reduxx has previously revealed that Prostasia’s campaign efforts have almost exclusively been directed at ending child pornography bans, demanding child-like sex dolls be kept legal, and funding research into “fantasy sexual outlets” for pedophiles.
The organization has also condemned anti-pedophile sentiment as harmful “Nazi-like” rhetoric,” calling for social media platforms to censor those who speak negatively about pedophilia.
In addition to his work with Prostasia, Berlatsky infamously penned an article in 2016 lamenting the treatment of “children engaged in survival sex” by police. Calling them “child sex workers,” Berlatsky framed children forced into prostitution as willing participants in legitimate employment.
Labeling trafficked children “domestic minors in the sex industry,” Berlatsky wrote that their biggest danger was the police, calling the child sexual abuse victims “a criminalized and stigmatized population.”
One year later, Berlatsky used similar rhetoric on social media in a Tweet where he called pedophiles “a stigmatized group,” expressing sympathy for them.
His Twitter thread on the matter read: “There’s little evidence that our culture cares especially about abuse of children….Young people of any gender who trade sex face arrest and abuse from police. No one is very interested in helping them.”
He goes on to insist that people don’t really care about helping child victims of sexual abuse, but rather that the real issue is that “pedophiles are loathed.”
In his review of Sound of Freedom, Berlatsky claims the film’s representation of trafficking is “misleading.” He cites the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative, writing that “67% of the children who are sexually trafficked are 15 to 17 years old rather than young children.” He goes on to clarify that he does not believe 15-17 year-olds should be considered young children.
The former Prostasia director also referred to Miles Klee’s review for Rolling Stone which is labeled Sound of Freedom a “superhero movie for dads with brainworms.”
Klee similarly asserts that the film is little more than a “delusion” that “foment[s] moral panic … over this grossly exaggerated ‘epidemic’ of child sex-trafficking, much of it funneling people into conspiracist rabbit holes and QAnon communities.”
Despite the scathing reviews from mainstream outlets, Sound of Freedom has performed well at the box office, grossing over $85 million as of July 4 compared to its $14.5 million budget.
Former President Donald Trump is set to screen the film at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on Wednesday, July 19. His official website says he will be joined by producer Verástegui, actor Jim Caviezel, and former Homeland Security operative Tim Ballard.
Trump has released a statement ahead of the event calling out “liberal media outlets” like New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Hollywood Reporter for refusing to review the film, but also slams Rolling Stone, Washington Post, CNN, and The Guardian for “trashing” it and mocking those who purchased tickets.
Washington Post, which also published Berlatsky’s review of Sound of Freedom, was under fire last fall for publishing a glowing review of an off-Broadway play which appears to sympathetically portray child sex offenders.
