The “Gosnell” film producers hit another obstacle this week when the social media giant Facebook refused to run their ads.
“Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer” will be in theaters beginning Oct. 12. Under-reported from the start, the film follows the true story of Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortionist who murdered newborn babies and committed numerous other crimes inside his “house of horrors” abortion facility. It stars Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark”) and is directed by Nick Searcy (“The Shape of Water,” “Justified”).
Producers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney have faced roadblocks from the start of their project, and the advertising problems are just another obstacle that they believe is trying to stop them from exposing the horrific truth about the abortion industry.
“The Silicon establishment do not want this story told,” McAleer told The Federalist. “Kickstarter refused to let us crowdfund to fund the film and NPR have just rejected us from advertising the movie on the taxpayer funded station. Now Facebook is trying to censor the movie. They really, really don’t want this story told.”
He said Facebook rejected their ads but never told them why.
“They simply state it’s not been approved and to check their standards, but it does not give you a specific reason why this post could be not be promoted at all to a wider audience,” he said. “It’s clear it is the pro-life audience that they don’t want to encourage or provide content to. They really hate anyone who doesn’t subscribe to the liberal world view.”
The film does have a Facebook page, but paid advertising helps more people see the posts. McAleer said from what he has read on technical blogs about Facebook analytics, as few as 2 percent of the people who like a page see its posts – unless the page pays to “boost” the post.
SIGN THE PETITION! Attention Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube: Stop Censoring Pro-Lifers
“Facebook is essentially silencing these children and women whom Gosnell murdered,” McAleer told the news outlet. “This is content journalists should be covering but Facebook is putting their thumb on the scale because they do not like the content. … As independent filmmakers, we have a limited budget and Facebook was a mainstay of our outreach efforts.”
The film has been a long time in coming. The filmmakers have been hitting roadblocks since they began their project more than four years ago. Their struggles began when the crowdfunding site Kickstarter refused to allow McAleer and McElhinney to fundraiser there. They later broke a crowdfunding record on Indiegogo.
Then, last month, NPR rejected an ad for the film because it used the term “abortion doctor,” according to The Daily Beast. NPR claimed the term is not “value neutral,” but it has used the term in its own reporting numerous times.
The film and its subject, the true crime story of abortionist Kermit Gosnell, have been largely ignored by the mainstream media for years. In 2013, a jury convicted Gosnell of murdering three newborn babies and contributing to the death of a female patient, along with numerous other crimes. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison.
The movie is rated PG-13. At least 750 theaters across the U.S. are slated to show the film. For more details, visit gosnellmovie.com.
