Is crowdfunding site Kickstarter attempting to suppress a film on baby killer Kermit Gosnell?

Is crowdfunding site Kickstarter attempting to suppress a film on baby killer Kermit Gosnell?

The name Kermit Gosnell conjures up nightmarish memories. Most vivid are the pictures and descriptions of the horrific crimes the one-time Philadelphia abortionist committed, notably his murder of babies born alive. Less visceral, though galling, was the hands-off approach the mainstream media took toward coverage of Gosnell’s murder trial in the late spring of 2013, which didn’t comport their liberal world view.

Now the Gosnell atrocities and possible attempts to suppress them are back in the news. Conservative filmmakers Ann McElhinney, Phelim McAleer, and Magdelena Segieda have set out to make a true-crime TV movie about the horrors of Kermit Gosnell and his Philadelphia abortion clinic. They have run into a snag, however. As a means of financing, they chose to create a page on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter. But they claim that their project is being held to more stringent standards than other works on the site.

In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, McAleer accused Kickstarter of slow-walking their project once they got wind of the topic, claiming that the moviemakers had violated “community guidelines.”

National Review Online reports that the filmmakers’ company, Ann and Phelim Media, received an email on March 27 stating:

We ask that the phrase ‘1000s of babies stabbed to death’ and similar language be modified or removed from the project. We understand your convictions and the horror of this person’s crimes, however we are a broad website used by millions of people. Our Community Guidelines outline that we encourage and enforce a culture of respect and consideration, and we ask that that language specifically be modified for those reasons.

But McAleer claims there are many projects being funded on Kickstarter that are not being held to the same narrow constraints. He observes that there are 16 projects about stabbing, 5 about incest, 44 about rape, and 28 with the F-word in the title.

In the meantime, according to GenFringe, the trio has moved their funding efforts to rival site Indiegogo, where they have raised more than $300,000.

LU Staff

LU Staff

Promoting and defending liberty, as defined by the nation’s founders, requires both facts and philosophical thought, transcending all elements of our culture, from partisan politics to social issues, the workings of government, and entertainment and off-duty interests. Liberty Unyielding is committed to bringing together voices that will fuel the flame of liberty, with a dialogue that is lively and informative.

Comments

For your convenience, you may leave commments below using Disqus. If Disqus is not appearing for you, please disable AdBlock to leave a comment.