Dinesh D'Souza apologizes for false claims in election conspiracy theory film '2000 Mules'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Independent

Monday 02 December 2024 15:05 GMT


Far-right provocateur and pardoned felon Dinesh D’Souza has issued an apology over false accusations he made in his 2022 election conspiracy theory movie 2000 Mules, acknowledging that his claims about illegal “ballot trafficking” during the 2020 presidential election were misleading and inaccurate.

In a lengthy statement posted to his website on Sunday, D’Souza said that his movie — which asserts that “mules” were paid to fraudulently deposit harvested ballots in swing states — had relied on “cell phone geolocation data” provided by conservative non-profit group True the Vote. That data, D’Souza noted, had turned out to be false.

“We were assured that the surveillance videos had been linked to geolocation cell phone data, such that each video depicted an individual who had made at least 10 visits to drop boxes. Indeed, it is clear from the interviews within the film itself that True the Vote was correlating the videos to geolocation data,” he wrote. “We recently learned that surveillance videos used in the film may not have actually been correlated with the geolocation data.”

Adding that his movie and companion book created the “impression that these individuals were mules that had been identified as suspected ballot harvesters” based on True the Vote’s cell phone data, D’Souza conceded that these people were wrongfully accused of misconduct.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/dinesh-dsouza-movie-apology-pardon-b2657368.html

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I heard last night on the news that Kash Patal wrote a children's book based on it

[quaint]

2. Just a little naive.

Yeah, sure you were.

[Sneederbunk]

3. Just a little evil.

[Callie1979]

4. Wonder what the reaction will be when this is posted on Truth Social??

Just kidding we all KNOW it'll never get posted there!

[FakeNoose]

5. Oh that's nice of him, he apologizes ... but the DAMAGE IS DONE!

People believed his lies and they voted for Chump. An apology now doesn't mean shit.

[Grokenstein]

6. Aw, isn't that schweet. He sowwy he made a boo-boo.

Go to hell, little rat bastard.

[not fooled]

7. Well, he's now disqualified for a cabinet position in red don's

maladministration. For telling the truth, even though apparently in connection with settling a defamation lawsuit.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. He was previously pardoned by 45 for his earlier criminality

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44319709

So he would fit just fine.

[Jacson6]

9. Was he sued for his claims that defamed innocent people? Alex Jones Part Duex. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Yes

and I think there was only one person (so far) who did sue (the one mentioned in the article) because although all supposedly had their faces blurred out so they were supposedly unidentifiable, the guy who sued apparently recognized himself.

From near the bottom of the OP article -

(snip)

After the Georgia Bureau of Investigation exonerated Andrews of any illegal activity, finding that he was legally dropping off ballots for members of his family, Andrews filed a defamation lawsuit against D’Souza, True the Vote and Salem Media, the publisher of 2000 Mules. In his lawsuit, Andrews alleged that the baseless claims made in the film led to violent threats against him and his family.

Settling its end of the defamation suit, Salem Media apologized to Andrews in May of this year and halted distribution of D’Souza’s film and book on all of its platforms. In its statement, the conservative media company said it “relied on representations made to us by Dinesh D’Souza and True the Vote.”

(snip)

Here's info on the initial case (2023) - https://casetext.com/case/andrews-v-dsouza

Apparently the judge dismissed some counts against D'Souzxa, True The Vote, and Salem but kept others and Andrews was supposed to file an additional complaint.

[Jacson6]

16. I'm sure they all didn't want a $1.5 billion dollar judgment like dufus Alex has. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

19. I haven't had chance to see what the newest complaint was

and whether there was a dollar amount associated.

The fact that Distort DeNewza came out like this is notable though... Could be he was thinking about Alex Jones AND Ghouliani...

[reACTIONary]

22. You guessed it.

[Blue_Tires]

10. What good is an apology now?!

He'll cook up some other big lie for 2028

[AZ8theist]

14. He IS A BIG LIE ....all by himself.

[reACTIONary]

23. Good for whom? Its damage control since...

... he is being threatened with a law suit.

[Ford_Prefect]

11. Since when is a lying sack of ****'s apology over an orchestrated campaign of deception to undermine the

voting system and the dedicated public officials and poll workers whose job is to ensure that trust a meaningful or true statement?

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...., You can bet it's a God D***ed duck.

Apology Not Accepted. Please proceed with the lawsuits for defamation and indictments for Treason.

[Evolve Dammit]

18. And this is not a crime? JHC

[Ford_Prefect]

29. I am told it is the difference between advertising and propaganda.

One is based loosely on a version of a few facts and intended to sway the audience to a particular choice or behavior. The other is intended to create an entirely false impression among the audience, generally against their best interests, and persuade them to choose or act accordingly.
Some days it is hard to tell the difference. However, we do live in a predatory capitalist economy.

[AZ8theist]

13. Anti-science creationist IMBECILE.

[Ursus Rex]

15. Nice, strategic timing.

"Nothing to see here, I was wrong and the vote is secure!"

[NewHendoLib]

17. Fuck Dinesh. Utter trash.

[turbinetree]

20. Pound sand......................

[GB_RN]

21. D'Souza Is Full Of Shit.

One doesn’t just happen to come by cellphone location data (hell, even the cops have to get a court order to access that information), and have it handy to give to a scumbag like D’Souza. Especially when that “one” is anyone from True the Vote. He’s full of shit, and a despicable excuse of a human being, but he’s not (totally) stupid. He knew what he had was fake.

Yup. Full of shit. Sadly, the MAGAts believed him. And probably are saying right now, that D’Souza’s only done this because he was being sued, investigated, or whatever BS conspiracy wackiness that pops into their misfiring neurons. To paraphrase the kid from Sixth Sense, “I see stupid people.”

[LetMyPeopleVote]

24. Claims from conspiratorial '2000 Mules' film spark new apology

Dinesh D’Souza conceded in a new apology that his “2000 Mules” movie was based in part on “inaccurate information.”
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3lcdtdhcxw22y

As Dinesh D'Souza concedes that "2000 Mules" relied on "inaccurate information," when will we see grudging acknowledgements of reality from the Republicans who took it seriously?

Donald Trump, Mike Lee, and Andy Biggs, I'm looking in your direction

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/claims-conspiratorial-2000-mules-film-spark-new-apology-rcna182480

Trump had plenty of company. Indeed, it’s hard to overstate just how much this literally unbelievable film fueled far-right conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. It quickly became a Trump favorite, of course, but many other Republicans — including some in the House and Senate — also took the movie quite seriously, pointing to it was powerful evidence of election irregularities.

They were wrong. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on a written apology from right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza, who was responsible for making the documentary.

The producer of a documentary that falsely accused a metro Atlanta man of committing election fraud during the 2020 election has issued an apology saying his depiction was based on “inaccurate information.” ... “I make this apology not under the terms of a settlement agreement or other duress, but because it is the right thing to do, given what we have now learned,” D’Souza wrote on his website over the weekend.

If this sounds at all familiar, the developments come roughly six months after NBC News reported that “2000 Mules” was “pulled by the publisher, Salem Media Group, and the company issued a public apology to a Georgia man who is suing the author and publisher on defamation claims after he was accused of ballot stuffing.”

To be sure, brutal criticisms of the movie are not altogether new. The New York Times characterized the film as “a Big Lie in a New Package,” noting that even some on the right expressed discomfort with the project and its conclusions. The Associated Press said the film is burdened by “gaping holes“; analyses published by The Washington Post characterized its findings as “dishonest“ and “misleading“; The Daily Beast said the movie is “stupid“; and The Bulwark found it to be so bad that it’s unintentionally “hilarious.”

[Pinback]

25. The entire premise of this "documentary" was complete BS

and D’Souza knew it. I can only assume he’s fake-apologizing to avoid further legal consequences and expenses. Worthless excuse for a human being.

[FSogol]

26. PS: "I don't want to end up like Rudy", he added.

[Initech]

27. Too late. The damage is done.

And it's going to fuck up the country and probably the world for the next several decades.

[lonely bird]

28. Strip his citizenship and kick his ass out

Convicted felon and underminer of democracy can go back to India. I would be Modi would love him.