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Salem Media Group Issues Apology Over False Election Fraud Depiction in Film “2,000 Mules”
The right-leaning media corporation, Salem Media Group, has publicly apologised to a man, Mark Andrews, from Georgia who was erroneously portrayed as an election fraud offender in the movie “2,000 Mules,” a film they co-produced and launched in 2022.
Unfounded Allegations in the Film Garnered Attention
Conceived and directed by conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, the documentary alleged that Democrats collaborated with nonprofit organizations to fix the 2020 election in favour of President Biden by utilizing “mules” to pack ballot boxes in swing states. It drew a massive audience, with more than a million viewers within the first two weeks of its release in May 2022, and earned over $10 million.
Despite lacking substantial evidence to back up its claims, the film’s allegations gained traction among a significant population of Americans who believed that the election was unethically manipulated. Later in the year, Salem published a companion book to the film.
Mark Andrews: An Unintended Figure of Controversy
The movie highlighted surveillance footage of Mark Andrews depositing ballots into a drop box near Atlanta, detailing erroneous claims about his actions through D’Souza’s voice-over commentary. Unblurred versions of the footage were used to promote the film on conservative news channels, including shows by Tucker Carlson on Fox News and Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, produced by Salem.
Following his portrayal, Andrews sued D’Souza, Salem, and two individuals linked to the right-wing election-monitoring group True the Vote for defamation in October 2022. It was later determined by state investigators in Georgia that Mark Andrews did not commit any legal transgressions when he cast the ballots for himself and his extended family.
Salem admitted regret, stating “It was never our intent that the publication of the ‘2,000 Mules’ film and book would harm Mr. Andrews. We apologize for the hurt…caused to Mr. Andrews and his family.” The company subsequently stopped distribution of the film and book from its platforms.
The Controversial Impact of “2,000 Mules”
As the 2022 midterm elections loomed, the film became a focal point for various organizations and people asserting that the presidency had been unfairly taken from Donald J. Trump, who praised the film as an impactful documentary. It incited several advocacy groups to monitor ballot boxes — sometimes armed — and to discourage early voting.
However, many advocates, including Rudolph W. Giuliani and Fox News, who had initially supported the film’s claims, later confessed that they had circulated misinformation about the election. Additionally, True the Vote’s attorney admitted in court that they lacked evidence to support allegations of election fraud in the state.
Notwithstanding these admissions, a large number of Americans remain convinced of the 2020 election being manipulated. A CNN poll revealed that more than two-thirds of Republican voters do not believe President Biden won the election fairly.
A Lack of Evidence Leads to Debunking of Claims
“2,000 Mules” extensively relied on cellphone location data obtained from True the Vote, which purportedly depicted ballot mules at ballot boxes multiple times a day, and participating in Black Lives Matter protests. The organization also claimed they had forwarded fraud evidence to the FBI.
However, all these claims were later debunked by subsequent investigations. The Attorney General of Arizona has recommended the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service to investigate True the Vote, citing that the group has failed to provide evidence supporting its fraud allegations.
The defamation case filed by Mark Andrews is still ongoing after a federal judge in Georgia refused to dismiss the case in September.
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