Riddled With Lies Dinesh D’Souza Movie & Embraced By Trump, Pulled Down; Maker Apologizes

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India-West News Desk

Salem Media Group has pulled Dinesh D’Souza’s movie “2000 Mules” from its platforms and issued an apology to Mark Andrews, a Georgia man falsely accused of illegal voting activity in the film. “2000 Mules,” which grossed almost $1.5 million in its 2022 release, made several claims that the 2020 election was rigged, assertions quickly debunked by Factcheck.org.

Despite this, former President Donald Trump had cited the movie in his ongoing claims that the election was stolen, Deadline reported.

Salem Media Group stated, “In publishing the film and the book, we relied on representations made to us by Dinesh D’Souza and True the Vote, Inc. that the individuals depicted in the videos provided to us by TTV, including Mr. Andrews, illegally deposited ballots. We have learned that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has cleared Mr. Andrews of illegal voting activity in connection with the event depicted in ‘2000 Mules.'”

The company added, “It was never our intent that the publication of the ‘2000 Mules’ film and book would harm Mr. Andrews. We apologize for the hurt the inclusion of Mr. Andrews’ image in the movie, book, and promotional materials have caused Mr. Andrews and his family. We have removed the film from Salem’s platforms, and there will be no future distribution of the film or the book by Salem.”

Mark Andrews had sued Salem, D’Souza, and True the Vote for defamation. The public interest group Protect Democracy, which represented Andrews, stated, “Mr. Andrews’ case will continue against the remaining Defendants, as he pursues accountability for their defamation.”

Despite being widely debunked by law enforcement officials and the media, including NPR, “2000 Mules” developed a widespread following among supporters of the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. According to Andrews’ lawsuit, the allegations in “2000 Mules” led to violent threats against him and his family, causing them to fear for their safety.

In a related court filing, Salem settled the lawsuit brought by Andrews for an undisclosed “significant” amount. In their apology, Salem reiterated, “It was never our intent that the publication of the ‘2000 Mules’ film and book would harm Mr. Andrews. We apologize for the hurt the inclusion of Mr. Andrews’ image in the movie, book, and promotional materials have caused Mr. Andrews and his family.”