Right-wing media conglomerate Salem Media has retracted and apologized for Dinesh D’Souza and True the Vote’s conspiracy theory-laden “documentary” 2000 Mules after settling a lawsuit with a Georgia voter falsely accused by the film of committing fraud in the 2020 election. 

Before halting distribution of the film and removing it from its platforms, Salem Media provided a platform to widely circulate its election integrity misinformation throughout the right-wing media ecosystem. Salem Media’s Charlie Kirk was featured in the documentary, and a search for the film name on The Gateway Pundit’s website yielded dozens of articles.

In May 2022, filmmaker D’Souza released 2000 Mules in partnership with “election integrity” group True the Vote and Salem Media. The film relies heavily on the use of cellphone geotracking, a faulty approach that reportedly fails to prove claims of ballot trafficking. (D’Souza also published a book version of 2000 Mules, which was recalled by the publisher soon after it hit bookstores and altered to retract certain allegations before its re-release. True the Vote claimed to have “had no participation in” the book.) 

The documentary has been repeatedly debunked by law enforcement and the media, but right-wing media heavily promoted the film as supposed evidence of widespread voter fraud aimed at stopping former President Donald Trump from winning the 2020 presidential election. 

Mark Andrews, a Georgia man falsely depicted as committing voter fraud in the film, sued D’Souza and his company, Salem Media, True the Vote and its founders Catherine Engelbrecht and Greg Phillips, and the book publisher. In a separate legal proceeding, a Fulton County Superior Court judge ordered True the Vote to provide evidence of voter fraud in Georgia, which the film asserted. True the Vote admitted in court that it did not have evidence substantiating its claims. 

Salem Media recently settled in the suit, paying Andrews an undisclosed “significant” amount and issuing a formal apology. The outlet also claimed that it “relied on representations made to us by Dinesh D’Souza and True the Vote.” Engelbrecht claimed in a livestream that Salem retracted 2000 Mules only because of pressure from shareholders and advertisers, and True the Vote posted on X  that it “stands by its processes and methodologies” and Salem’s settlement “does not change our [True the Vote’s] position.” D’Souza reposted the statement. 

Right-wing media figures and outlets have pushed the film, using it to fuel claims that the 2020 election was stolen

• One America News regularly promoted the film around the 2022 midterm elections, devoting 58 hours of airtime to the film between October 15 and November 1. One America News figures also attended the Mar-a-Lago premiere, bizarrely weaved the film into unrelated segments about crime, and called it the “film of the century.” Host Dan Ball stated, “After watching this movie, I will say this: There’s not one doubt in my mind that this election was rigged, period.” [Media Matters, 11/3/22, 5/11/22]
• The Daily Signal, The Published Reporter, and several GOP politicians ran ads on Meta promoting 2000 Mules, further spreading the film’s false claims. The Daily Signal’s ad features a quote from Phillips claiming that there was an “organized effort to subvert” the 2020 election. Meta prohibits ads that have been debunked by third-party fact-checkers, but Media Matters found 36 ads promoting the film. [Media Matters, 5/6/22]
• Right-wing podcaster and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon invited Engelbrecht and Phillips onto War Room to promote the film, even after the group failed to provide evidence before the court. Bannon claimed that True the Vote was being targeted in an “organized media hit.” [Media Matters, 2/20/24]
• Salem Media host and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk appeared in 2000 Mules and brought D’Souza, Engelbrecht, and Phillips on his show to promote the film. Kirk also partnered with D’Souza to host exclusive showings of the documentary. [Media Matters, 5/4/22; CharlieKirk.com, 4/9/22]
• A search for “2000 Mules” on The Gateway Pundit’s website returned dozens of articles. The outlet claimed that the film “irrefutably confirms the widespread belief that Democrats stole the election in 2020.” [The Gateway Pundit, 6/2/22]
• Jeffrey Clark, whom Trump attempted to make attorney general, has repeatedly praised 2000 Mules on X (formerly known as Twitter) and claimed that it revealed a “massive multi-State operation.” He promoted a Gateway Pundit article on Kirk’s interview with Engelbrecht and Phillips. [Media Matters, 6/23/22]