This afternoon on Fox News' America Live, correspondent Trace Gallagher reported on the “surprise” box-office success of Dinesh D'Souza's new anti-Obama film, 2016: Obama's America, noting that the film “had to rely on word of mouth, talk radio, plus cable news to get exposure.” Gallagher was right: D'Souza and his film have thus far received nothing but positive promotion from Fox News and Fox Business hosts despite its factual inaccuracies and dishonesty. By contrast, other media outlets have been more skeptical about D'Souza's film and it assertions.
D'Souza has appeared on Fox networks five times in a month and a half to promote the movie and its companion book, Obama's America: Unmaking the American Dream. Those appearances were on July 17 (Hannity), July 27 (Lou Dobbs Tonight), August 13 (Hannity), August 14 (Lou Dobbs Tonight), and August 20 (The O'Reilly Factor). He is scheduled to be on Lou Dobbs Tonight this evening, his third appearance on that show in a month. FoxNews.com published an August 16 op-ed by D'Souza hyping the movie.
In his August 16 appearance on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, Morgan told D'Souza that “I want to go through some of these claims you make in your book. And just challenge you to sort of back them up really.” After D'Souza explained his theory that Obama wants America to “have less power so that other countries can come up in the world,” Morgan asked: “You don't obviously believe that, do you?” At various points throughout the interview, Morgan called D'Souza's spurious allegations “nonsense” and “an absolute load of filly.”
When D'Souza appeared on Current's The Young Turks on August 21, host Cenk Uygur challenged him almost immediately, disputing the amount of debt that D'Souza claimed had been accumulated under Obama and correctly noting that most of the debt incurred during Obama's term was due to Bush administration policies. (Debt falsehoods like the ones promoted by D'Souza are popular among theconservative media).
By contrast, his multiple Fox appearances were in a confrontation-free environment, where D'Souza was given license to promote his movie's already discredited assertions and conspiracy.
On the July 27 Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dobbs brought D'Souza in for an interview and raved over the movie, saying that “I think it's powerful. I think it's sensitive. I think the sensibility you bring to it is extraordinary. It's wonderful.” Dobbs ended the interview by saying: “We've got a much better fate awaiting us if just -- we simply awaken to what Dinesh is revealing in a wonderful movie, '2016.' August 10. And go to the Web site, 2016 the movie, 2016theMovie.com. And it will be coming to a theater near you.”
On the August 13 Hannity, Hannity informed his viewers that "'2016,' the movie by the way, is out now in movie theatres. Go out with Obama's half-brother."
On the August 14, 2012 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dobbs again hyped the film, telling his audience to “be sure to check the movie, '2016,' coming to a theater near you, if it's not already there.”
At the end of his show on Friday, Dobbs promoted the upcoming appearance by “author turned filmmaker, Dinesh D'Souza, blockbuster movie, blockbuster books.” It sounds like another bit of friction-free promotion is in store for D'Souza.