| 2000 Mules | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by |
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| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | Dinesh D'Souza |
| Narrated by | Dinesh D'Souza |
| Edited by | Dinesh D'Souza |
| Music by | Bryan E. Miller |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | D'Souza Media |
Release date | |
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.5 million[3] |
2000 Mules is a debunked 2022 American conspiracist[4][5][6][7] political film which falsely[8][9][10] claims paid "mules" illegally collected and deposited ballots into drop boxes in swing states during the 2020 presidential election. The film was written, directed, produced, and narrated by right-wing political commentator and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza, who has a history of creating and spreading false conspiracy theories.[11]
The Associated Press (AP) reported that the film relies on "faulty assumptions, anonymous accounts and improper analysis of cellphone location data" provided by conservative[12] non-profit True the Vote.[8] FactCheck.org found the film's "supposed evidence is speculative".[13] National Public Radio (NPR) reported True the Vote "made multiple misleading or false claims about its [own] work".[14] AP reported that the assertion that True the Vote identified 1,155 paid mules in Philadelphia alone was false. The film presented a single unverified anonymous witness who said she saw people picking up what she "assumed" were payments for ballot collection in Arizona; no evidence of such payments was presented in any of the other four states.[8] The film characterizes the alleged operation as "ballot trafficking" with "stash houses", but presents no evidence that ballots were illegally collected to be deposited in drop boxes.[8][15][16][17]
A companion book was set to be released in early September 2022 but was abruptly recalled amidst legal threats and edited for release late in October.[5] In 2024, Salem Media Group partially settled a lawsuit by a Georgia man who had been falsely accused of depositing fraudulent ballots in a ballot box. As part of the settlement, Salem disavowed the film and the book, pulled them from distribution and apologized.[18]
- ^ Palmer, Ewan (May 5, 2022). "Donald Trump holds screening of "2,000 Mules" documentary at Mar-a-Lago". Newsweek. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ "Domestic 2022 Weekend 20". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- ^ "2000 Mules (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ Downen, Robert (October 7, 2022). "How the debunked conspiracy film '2000 Mules' became Texas Republican orthodoxy". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
recalled bookwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rogers, Kaleigh (October 25, 2022). "Most Candidates Who Think 2020 Was Rigged Are Probably Going To Win In November". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NPR2024-05-31was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference
Swenson_5/3/2022was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
PolitiFact_5/4/2022was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Bump_4/29/2022was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Multiple sources:
- Whitfield, Stephen J. (October 2018). "The Persistence of the Protocols". Society. 55 (5): 417–421. doi:10.1007/s12115-018-0282-6. ISSN 0147-2011. S2CID 150256723.
Most recently the conspiracy theorist Dinesh D'Souza accused Soros of supporting antifa, that is, of backing 'domestic terrorism.'
- Langer, Armin (April 2, 2021). "The eternal George Soros". In Önnerfors, Andreas; Krouwel, André (eds.). Europe: Continent of Conspiracies (1 ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 163–184. doi:10.4324/9781003048640-9. ISBN 978-1-003-04864-0. S2CID 233615606.
The US conspiracy theorist and pro-Trump commentator Dinesh D'Souza...
- "Trump pardons right-wing conspiracy theorist Dinesh D'Souza — World News with Matt Bevan". Radio National. June 1, 2018.
- Savan, Leslie (July 8, 2014). "ABC News Helps Dinesh D'Souza Hype His Latest Conspiracy Theory". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- Jones, Sarah (May 31, 2018). "Grifters All the Way Down". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- Rodgers, Jennifer (March 19, 2019). "Trump is turning his pardon power into a shield". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- Whitfield, Stephen J. (October 2018). "The Persistence of the Protocols". Society. 55 (5): 417–421. doi:10.1007/s12115-018-0282-6. ISSN 0147-2011. S2CID 150256723.
- ^ Eilperin, Juliet (May 21, 2013). "Conservative group True the Vote sues IRS over being subject to heightened scrutiny". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ Farley, Robert (June 10, 2022). "Evidence Gaps in '2000 Mules'". FactCheck.org.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Dreisbach_5/17/2022was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Dreisbach, Tom (May 17, 2022). "A pro-Trump film suggests its data are so accurate, it solved a murder. That's false". National Public Radio. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Bump_5/11/2022was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Fact Check-Does '2000 Mules' provide evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. presidential election?". Reuters. May 27, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Darcy, Oliver (May 31, 2024). "Right-wing media company Salem apologizes, stops distributing 2020 election conspiracy film '2000 Mules' after lawsuit". CNN. Retrieved May 31, 2024.