SENSATIONALISM OVER SUBSTANCE

SENSATIONALISM OVER SUBSTANCE

280 traffickers arrested in landmark international labor trafficking case - The Exodus Road

 

The Exodus Road, an anti-trafficking organization claiming to fight human trafficking around the world was founded by Matt and Laura Parker, in 2012. It’s headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They claim to work with and train law enforcement in the United States, Thailand, the Philippines, Uganda, Brazil, and other undisclosed locations around the world. The Exodus Road is a lucrative, but highly questionable organization. They fabricate and sensationalize stories about their involvement in anti-trafficking operations. Matt and Laura have created wealth for themselves, their leadership staff, and their families.

 

The appearance of money laundering is evident due to false and unethical marketing. There are exaggerated claims and a hubristic attitude of heroism. Matt and Laura Parker are entrepreneurs, they appear to only be seeking fame and fortune. They have obtained a “Hollywood” lifestyle through their understanding of how to solicit donations, how to generate profit through false narratives, and how to seize opportunities to exploit exploitation. They have established a global organization that engages in deceit by utilizing sensationalism over substance.

 

Let’s begin with the latest misleading story they posted on their website. This is an attempt to make an outlandish claim of their involvement in a human trafficking arrest made in Laos. They are using misleading marketing for the sole sake of making a profit. This is an unethical article that is misleading and highly deceitful. It blatantly exaggerates their involvement with the operations that led to the arrest of 280 traffickers in Laos. Posted on their website, on October 22, 2024. https://theexodusroad.com/operation-international/

 

Listed below are links to stories about the raid in Laos. The Exodus Road is claiming to not just be a part of the raid, they are claiming to have collected the evidence and planned the operations on this compound in Laos. There is no denying the fact this is the anti-trafficking operation that they are claiming to be a part of. The numbers in each story are the numbers that are posted in The Exodus Road article.

280 Traffickers

1,345 Mobile Phones

Country of Laos

 

These numbers are not a coincidence. The Exodus Road is misleading donors and future donors by misrepresenting their involvement in this case.

 

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/chinese-arrested-alleged-online-scamming-07052024154614.html

 

https://laotiantimes.com/2024/07/02/hundreds-of-chinese-nationals-deported-for-online-fraud-in-lao-sez/

 

https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freefreenews/freecontent_125_Police_y24.php

 

https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/laos-issues-ultimatum-to-golden-triangle-scam-operators/

Laos Issues Ultimatum to Golden Triangle Scam OperatorsA Facebook screenshot of a post by Lao Security News, showing alleged Chinese scammers being deported to China from Laos, June 30, 2024. (Lao Security News via Facebook)

The involvement of The Exodus Road is highly exaggerated. Through research and investigation of this story, as well as speaking with several police officers who worked on the case, The Exodus Road involvement cannot be verified. It’s highly suspicious that The Exodus Road had any role in the case, let alone a leading role in the arrest of these 280 human traffickers in Laos. It’s troubling that The Exodus Road claims to be the hero of this horrific crime. There are real victims and real abuse of trafficking, and exploitation that continue within these call center sites. It’s disturbing that The Exodus Road would fabricate their involvement. It can only be for one reason, and that is to profit from the stories of exploited and trafficked individuals.

 

First, let’s address a brazen claim of “heroism” and an exaggeration of their involvement.

“As a global organization operating in multiple countries, we are uniquely positioned to respond to cases that cross international borders. When our team in Brazil heard about three citizens trafficked from Brazil to Laos, we knew that this would be one of those cases.”

https://theexodusroad.com/operation-international/

 

This is such a misleading statement of false marketing that it nearly qualifies as criminal activity. The Exodus Road is intentionally deceiving its donors regarding their involvement in “rescue” operations. This has the appearance of a money-laundering scheme. There is no doubt they have an office in Brazil. However, The Exodus Road creates a false impression by implying they were on the frontline of this investigation and that they led the operations through their partnership with Interpol and governmental leaders. They insinuate in their posted article they investigated, and planned the raid on this compound in Laos. “Working closely with Interpol and the Brazilian Embassy in Thailand, our teams supported the process of gathering evidence and planning a raid.” They are prevaricating their involvement by using the phrase, “our teams supported the process…..” Here’s how The Exodus Road pulls off their fake scam. They tell their donors it takes a specific amount of money to rescue an individual. In reality, they pay police or other government officials so they can claim credit for these rescues. If you do the math, they receive large amounts of money in donations but only pay a small amount to governmental and police officials, pocketing the rest as profit. This is Money laundering!!!

 

No one involved with this case can verify their role in supporting law enforcement or in gathering the facts that led to a raid on this specific compound. It can’t be a huge secret. Three months after the raid on this compound The Exodus Road is all over social media taking claim of the success of this operation. This is disingenuous and disrespectful to law enforcement and the Thai, Laos, and Brazilian governments. It is highly suspicious that they participated at all in this operation, let alone the collection of evidence, and the planning for the raid. Matt and Laura are aware that a news story like this could earn them a significant amount of money. By selling their supporters a fabricated story, they can raise millions in donations. Once again they have the appearance of a money laundering machine.

A Facebook screenshot of a post by Lao Security News, showing alleged Chinese scammers being deported to China from Laos, June 30, 2024. (Lao Security News via Facebook)

Matt and Laura Parker are both criminals. They exploit the exploited! But let’s continue to look at the facts. When authorities arrived at the site of the scamming call center in Laos, they arrested 280 traffickers who were complicit in the scheme. As additional evidence, they seized 1,345 mobile phones used for scamming. The traffickers are facing justice of up to 18 years in prison.

Officials also freed hundreds of survivors, all of whom had been lured from their home countries with the promise of stable work. The three Brazilian survivors were among those set free to return home and begin rebuilding their lives. Their stories of entrapment sparked an international collaboration.”

 

Through an exhaustive search of the facts and news reports about this raid, there is no mention of any Brazilian victims. Is it possible, yes!! The Exodus Road staff attempts to network with law enforcement and government officials. They make small payments to “help” fight human trafficking. They give just enough money to a police department or a government official to justify their involvement in the case. However, Matt and Laura understand they won’t make huge money by telling the truth. They understand donors want sensationalism! They need to give the appearance that The Exodus Road and David Zach, from Remedy Drive are leading the fight against human trafficking. A donor doesn’t want to give to an organization money, just to have that organization make a payment to police officer or governmental leader. Oh, no, a donor wants a story, they want to feel like they are part of something huge. Anti-trafficking organizations like The Exodus Road exploit exploitation. They create larger-than-life heroes and thrilling narratives all for a profit! Sensationalism over Substance.

May be an image of 1 person and guitar

DAVID ZACH AND REMEDY DRIVE ARE ALL ABOUT SENSATIONLISM

There are very few organizations and anti-trafficking leaders in Thailand, Cambodia, or Laos that claim to work with The Exodus Road. Additionally, almost every leader or volunteer affiliated with organizations in Southeast Asia has expressed negative opinions about The Exodus Road. If you are an Exodus Road donor, you are being misled, as your contributions are inadvertently enriching Matt and Laura Parker, along with David Zach from Remedy Drive.

 

“Because of the efforts of so many partners, including every supporter of The Exodus Road, this cyber-scamming compound is no longer operational.” This is a highly misleading statement. Once again, The Exodus Road uses exaggeration and hyperbole to deceive people into giving them money. The real story is that these Chinese individuals who have been arrested are being deported back to China. They will not be prosecuted, and they will be back in business in a few months. Indeed, the compound that was being used during this arrest is no longer operational, however, it has just moved to another site. The criminal syndicate continues. The Exodus Road and Remedy Drive have done nothing of substance to help victims of human trafficking. They are using this story, playing fast and loose with the facts for profit. It’s sad because there are real victims involved. Once again, Matt and Laura Parker have seized an opportunity to mislead individuals into giving millions of dollars for their “Hollywood” lifestyle.

 

Here is the real story coming out of Laos. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/chinese-arrested-alleged-online-scamming-07052024154614.html

 “But some Laotians said the latest round of arrests would not eradicate the root cause of the problem.

“Wiping out all these scamming activities is almost impossible because some Lao officials must be behind the schemes,” said a Bokeo province resident, referring to rampant corruption among Lao authorities.

“So many Chinese live in the SEZ and many of them are bad elements,” he added. “It’s very hard to get rid of all the bad guys.”

 

Once again, The Exodus Road will mislead people through false advertisements. The scamming centers are not being shut down. The Exodus Road is not the hero they portray themselves to be. The Exodus Road does not go into detail in the article posted on their webpage because they aren’t after substantial change. They use sensational headlines with vague details to raise money! Unfortunately, this works. They play upon the heartstrings of good people while continuing to espouse their false narrative of success.

 

Finally, it’s of vital importance to understand that The Exodus Road is not helping Interpol with rescue operations. “Working closely with Interpol and the Brazilian Embassy in Thailand, our teams supported the process of gathering evidence and planning a raid.” This is blatant false marketing they are promoting on their website. This needs to stop! They are not helping anyone, it’s sensationalism over substance. If The Exodus Road were to be this actively involved in a rescue operation there would be news coverage. However, there is no coverage regarding their involvement in this operation. Even given the benefit of the doubt. Let’s say they did receive information on three Brazilian citizens who needed help. There is no reason to disingenuously mislead individuals into thinking they rescued victims and had 280 traffickers arrested. The Exodus Road continues to operate with deceit and deception! They exploit the stories of vulnerable people who desperately need substantive help. They mislead their donors through false narratives and false advertising. Matt and Laura Parker use sensationalism over substance to enrich their “Hollywood” lifestyle.

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