Salem Media will no longer distribute Dinesh D’Souza’s film “2000 Mules” following an apology from the distributor. (Photo by Shannon Finney/Getty Images)
Shannon Finney/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
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Shannon Finney/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
The conservative media company behind the book and movie “2000 Mules” has issued an apology and said it will stop distributing and remove the film, which claims there was a widespread Democratic conspiracy to steal the 2020 election and was criticized by former President Donald Trump’s support.
In a statement posted on its website, Salem Media Group Inc. specifically apologized to Georgia voter Mark Andrews for falsely portraying “2,000 mules” illegally voting.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation cleared Andrews of wrongdoing and found that he was legally casting ballots for his family. Andrews filed a defamation lawsuit against Salem and the team behind the film: right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza and the True the Vote group.
Although “2000 Mules” has been widely debunked by law enforcement officials and the media, including NPR, the film and book have gained a widespread following among proponents of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
According to Andrews’ lawsuit, the allegations in “2000 Mules” resulted in violent threats against him and his family. “They fear that they will again be unfoundedly accused of election crimes, that adherents of the ‘mule’ theory may recognize them and seek retaliation against them, and that they may face physical harm,” the lawsuit states.
Salem settled the lawsuit filed by Andrews for an undisclosed “substantial” amount, according to court documents in the case. “We never intended that the publication of the ‘2000 Mule’ film and book would harm Mr. Andrews,” Salem wrote in a statement on its website. We deeply apologize for the harm caused to Mr. Si and his family.
Salem said it “relied on representations made to us by Dinesh D’Souza and True the Vote”.
D’Souza and True the Vote did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.
Andrews’ lawsuit was filed with help from the nonprofit Protect Democracy, which is also working on a defamation lawsuit filed by Georgia election workers against former New York mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani.
Attorneys for Protect Democracy declined to comment on Salem’s statement because of the ongoing case. It’s unclear what impact Salem’s apology will have on the lawsuit, which is currently in the investigation phase. Separately, Salem is suing its insurance company, claiming it failed to pay costs incurred in Andrews’ lawsuit.
This isn’t the first disagreement between the makers and dealers of 2000 Mules.
When D’Souza published a book version of the film and accused a specific nonprofit of illegal “vote trafficking,” True the Vote issued a statement saying the organization had “no involvement in the book and no knowledge of its contents.” The Vote added, “This Include any allegations in the book about the activities of any particular organization. We made no such allegation.
That version of the book was suddenly recalled after hitting shelves and replaced with a version that omitted several significant accusations.
