Philip Wiseman and Liam Turner from Oracle Films have travelled to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Milan, and Brussels and other places to record freedom marches, peaceful protests, and the testimonies of doctors whose voices have been silenced around the world.
‘It’s completely voluntary – we felt compelled to do it,’ Mr Wiseman said.
‘For everything we put out, we don’t claim a copyright – it’s up to the audience to pass it around and it’s become quite decentralised.’
Much of their content has been removed from YouTube and social media, meaning they have had to resort to sites such as Rumble, BrandNewTube and Odysee. Their Twitter account says ‘we make films that platforms like this one don’t seem to like’.
‘We have witnessed in real time the censorship being ramped up,’ Mr Wiseman said.
‘It felt a bit like wasted time and energy – it was disheartening, but moreover, you can see clear as day views are being silenced and not allowed in discussion.’
An interview with Matt Le Tissier was removed from YouTube in less than an hour, and Mr Turner said it had been difficult to share their content to begin with.
‘It was kind of heartbreaking initially.
‘In history, people have used their own discernment of who is talking sense and used their own judgement.’
Mr Wiseman added: ‘The censorship has only got more extreme as it’s gone on – we’ve had to adapt to that and everything we’ve done since the first rally.’
After seeing the lack of media coverage when tens of thousands gathered in August 2020 for a freedom rally in London, the pair had a five-camera set up in Trafalgar Square for a march the following month.
‘It was quite a big deal at the time and it wasn’t represented the way it should be,’ Mr Wiseman said.
The organiser then invited them to Berlin, where dozens of doctors around the world gathered to discuss their views regarding the pandemic.
‘It was brilliant and they all had something amazing to say,’ Mr Turner said.
‘Before we knew it the video was absolutely everywhere and had more than a million views.’
When videos were removed, it made people more curious, he said.
‘Within the first hour when it’s gaining momentum, the links going dead creates a “what am I missing?” mentality, and people start actively seeking it out.’
Mr Wiseman said: ‘Out of necessity, we’ll never know how many views we have because the videos are in different places.
‘It goes everywhere and it’s great because it’s going to be infinitely harder for censorship to control.’
The video they were most proud of was The Pushback, which compiled countless videos from individuals’ videos of freedom protests globally.
‘We were put in a position to represent so many people, which was such a big responsibility,’ Mr Turner said.
‘We definitely feel proud we gave it the attention it deserved.’
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