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The conservative media company behind “2000 Mules,” Dinesh D’Souza’s thoroughly discredited 2020 election conspiracy film, has pulled both the film and the book from its platforms and has apologized to a Georgia man who filed a defamation suit after the film falsely depicted him as engaging in voter fraud.
Salem Media Group said in a statement Friday that it had not intended to harm the man, Mark Andrews. It also said it will no longer distribute “2000 Mules” or the book of the same title that followed.
“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,” the company said.
The film, made by D’Souza and the group True the Vote, purports to show footage of people committing voter fraud in the 2020 election as part of a vast conspiracy to steal the election from Donald Trump.
Andrews is seen in the film depositing five ballots into a ballot box as D’Souza says in a voice over: “What you are seeing is a crime. These are fraudulent votes.” Andrews’ face was blurred in the footage, but during promotion and discussion of the film, True the Vote’s executives showed video of him without obscuring Andrews’ face, the lawsuit says.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation cleared Andrews after determining that he was legally dropping off ballots on behalf of his family. Andrews’ lawsuit against D’Souza, True the Vote and Salem is still ongoing.
Salem said in its statement that it “relied on representations” made by D’Souza and True the Vote that people in the footage they provided were illegally depositing ballots. After its release in 2022, the company hailed the film as “the most successful political documentary in a decade.”
D’Souza and True the Vote did not respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
Multiple allegations made in the film have been debunked, and in February, True the Vote told a court that it did not have evidence to support its allegations of voter fraud. Yet the film gained wide traction among conservatives upon its release. Trump held a screening of the film at Mar-a-Lago. Rep. Andy Biggs, a member of the House Oversight Committee, pushed for congressional hearings over the allegations in the film.
After the film's release, Salem published book with the same title, but it was delayed as it was about to hit shelves, with D’Souza citing “a significant error [that] got missed by the publisher." NPR reported that the new version of the book omitted the names of specific nonprofits that the earlier version accused of illegal "ballot trafficking" and removed "sections of the book that purported to link election fraud to antifa and the Black Lives Matter."