Director Dinesh D’Souza attended the DC premiere of Death of a Nation at E Street Cinema in Washington, DC on August 1, 2018.
Shannon Finney | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — “2000 Mules,” a film and book by conservative troll Dinesh D’Souza that alleges false conspiracies about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, has been removed. The film’s distribution has been pulled by its executive producers and publisher, according to a statement Friday.
Salem Media GroupThe company announced it was canceling screenings of DeSouza’s film and book, and also apologized to Mark Andrews of Georgia, who was falsely accused of voter fraud in “2000 Mules.”
In late 2022, Andrews filed a federal defamation lawsuit against the company, DeSouza and True The Vote, a nonprofit advocacy group that donated to the “2000 Mules” project.
CNBC reached out to D’Souza and True the Boat for comment on Salem Media’s decision to cancel “2000 Mules,” but they did not immediately respond.
Salem Media The film is scheduled to be released in 2022.
The company: “2000 Mules” It is said to be “the most successful political documentary of the last decade,” grossing $10 million within a few weeks of its release.
The film quickly became a staple of media productions produced by far-right figures intent on discrediting the results of the 2020 presidential election, won by President Joe Biden.
Former President Donald Trump, who lost to Biden, hugged “2,000 mules.” Screening a movie At the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
But since then, Claimed in the film and the bookpublished by Salem Media subsidiary Regnery Publishing, has been systematically debunked by journalists and law enforcement officials.
The end of last year, True the Vote’s lawyers A Georgia court said it had failed to provide any documents to support allegations of vote stuffing in the state’s 2020 presidential election, which Biden won.
“2000 Mules” shows Andrews placing five ballots into a box, as D’Souza says in a voiceover, “What you’re watching is a crime. This is voter fraud.”
Andrews’ lawsuit Under trial in court.
of The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.payment of royalties for the use of his name and likeness, and a court order directing D’Souza, Salem Media, True the Boat and others to remove statements about Andrews.
In a statement Friday announcing it was ceasing distribution of the film and book, Salem Media said it “never intended that the publication of the ‘2000 Mules’ film and book would cause any harm to Mr. Andrews.”
“We apologize for any hurt caused to Mr Andrews and his family by the inclusion of his image in the film, book and promotional materials,” the statement said.
“We have removed the film from Salem’s platform and Salem will not be distributing this film or book in the future.”
“In publishing our film and book, we relied on representations we received from Dinesh D’Souza and True the Vote that those seen in the video provided by TTV, including Mr Andrews, cast their ballots illegally,” Salem Media said.
Salem Media Sold Regnery Publishing, Publisher of the book “2000 Mules”late 2023.
The conservative publisher was acquired by Skyhorse Publishing, an independent publisher that has published work by a wide range of controversial authors, including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
last year, Fox Corporation paid $787 million Dominion Voting System Settle an unrelated defamation lawsuit Based on Fox News claims about the 2020 election.
