“Mel Gibson child sex-trafficking documentary blocked by Hollywood!”
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Actor Mel Gibson poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Daddys Home 2', in London, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Rumors persist about Mel Gibson child sex trafficking documentary, but evidence doesn't support that
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- Mel Gibson’s publicist has said he’s not involved in this project. It’s being produced by Nick Nanton of DNA Films.
Rumors that actor Mel GIbson is secretly working on a documentary series about child sex trafficking continue to spread online.
PolitiFact recently examined claims that Gibson had said he was secretly working on such a series and found it False. His publicist has said he’s not making any documentaries.
But a recent Facebook post suggests otherwise.
"Mel Gibson child sex-trafficking documentary blocked by Hollywood!" the caption on a June 16 post said.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
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The post’s video doesn’t echo or corroborate the claim in the caption. Rather, the video shows entrepreneur and YouTuber Patrick Bet-David speculating about whether Gibson will produce this documentary. Bet-David doesn’t say that Gibson’s child sex-trafficking documentary was blocked by Hollywood, as the post suggests, but instead talks about another unrelated movie about pedophilia and says it "never got funded."
The documentary Gibson has been falsely connected to in recent weeks is a four-part documentary series about the work of Operation Underground Railroad, a nonprofit founded by Tim Ballard that aims to rescue children "from sex trafficking and sexual exploitation."
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In a statement posted June 8 on the organization’s website, Ballard said Gibson called him in 2022 "with valuable intelligence regarding children who were rumored to be vulnerable to human traffickers in Ukraine" and that he deserves credit "for taking the initiative to further the critical work we do."
"However," Ballard said, "reports this four-part series is actually being produced by Mr. Gibson are not accurate. It’s being produced by Nick Nanton of DNA Films and includes several executive producers such as Kyle Cease, Tony and Sage Robbins, and other wonderful and talented people."
We rate claims that a child sex trafficking documentary from Gibson is being blocked by Hollywood False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, June 15, 2023
PolitiFact, Mel Gibson’s publicist dispels rumors about the actor working on a child sex trafficking documentary, June 14, 2023
Operation Underground Railroad, STATEMENT FROM OPERATION UNDERGROUND RAILROAD’S TIM BALLARD ON REPORTS OF MEL GIBSON PRODUCING A DOCUMENTARY, June 8, 2023
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Rumors persist about Mel Gibson child sex trafficking documentary, but evidence doesn't support that
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