Editing Dinesh D'Souza (section)

====''2000 Mules'' (2022)====
{{Main|2000 Mules}}
In May 2022, D'Souza released ''2000 Mules'', a [[conspiracy theory|conspiracist]] [[political film]]<ref name="auto3"/> that falsely alleges Democrat-aligned individuals were paid to illegally collect and deposit ballots into drop boxes in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin during the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]]. The film was based on research by [[True the Vote]]. Former president [[Donald Trump]] praised the film as exposing "great election fraud".<ref name="Swenson_5/3/2022">{{cite news |last1=Swenson |first1=Ali |date=May 3, 2022 |title=Fact Focus: Gaping holes in the claim of 2K ballot 'mules |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762 |quote=Praised by former President Donald Trump as exposing "great election fraud," the movie, called "2000 Mules," paints an ominous picture suggesting Democrat-aligned ballot "mules" were supposedly paid to illegally collect and drop off ballots in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But that's based on faulty assumptions, anonymous accounts and improper analysis of cellphone location data, which is not precise enough to confirm that somebody deposited a ballot into a drop box, according to experts. |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |access-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004035219/https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bump_4/29/2022">{{Cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=April 29, 2022 |title=Analysis {{!}} The dishonest pivot at the heart of the new voter-fraud conspiracy |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/29/dishonest-pivot-heart-new-voter-fraud-conspiracy/ |access-date=April 30, 2022 |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624232150/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/29/dishonest-pivot-heart-new-voter-fraud-conspiracy/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PolitiFact_5/4/2022">{{cite news |last1=McCarthy |first1=Bill |last2=Sherman |first2=Amy |date=May 4, 2022 |title=The faulty premise of the '2,000 mules' trailer about voting by mail in the 2020 election |publisher=[[PolitiFact]] |url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/may/04/faulty-premise-2000-mules-trailer-about-voting-mai/ |archive-date=September 6, 2023 |access-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906164912/https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/may/04/faulty-premise-2000-mules-trailer-about-voting-mai/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Associated Press reported the film was based on faulty assumptions, anonymous accounts and improper analysis of cellphone location data.<ref name="Swenson_5/3/2022" /><ref name="Bump_4/29/2022" /><ref name="PolitiFact_5/4/2022" /> ''[[The Dispatch]]'', a conservative<ref name="Coppins">{{cite news |last1=Coppins |first1=McKay |title=The Conservatives Trying to Ditch Fake News |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/01/dispatch-tries-sell-real-news-right/605860/ |access-date=12 April 2021 |publisher=The Atlantic |date=January 31, 2020 |quote=''The Dispatch'' produces "serious, factually grounded journalism for a conservative audience". |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310020332/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/01/dispatch-tries-sell-real-news-right/605860/ |url-status=live }}</ref> online magazine, found that "The film's ballot harvesting theory is full of holes", and mentioned that "D'Souza has a history of promoting false and misleading claims".<ref name="Himmelman_5/21/2022">{{cite web | last=Himmelman | first=Khaya | title=Fact Checking Dinesh D'Souza's '2,000 Mules' | website=[[The Dispatch]] Fact Check | date=May 21, 2022 | url=https://factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/fact-checking-dinesh-dsouzas-2000 | access-date=May 21, 2022 | archive-date=May 21, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521152025/https://factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/fact-checking-dinesh-dsouzas-2000 | url-status=live }}</ref> On May 31, 2024, AP reported that the publisher of the film, Salem Media Group Inc., had apologized to the man they falsely accused of election fraud in the film and accompanying book, and withdrawn both from their platforms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/2000-mules-film-apology-f1c2de96f17e72241761b4e6deaee5cb|title=Publisher of '2000 Mules' apologizes to Georgia man falsely accused of ballot fraud in the film|date=May 31, 2024|website=AP News|first=Kate|last=Brumback|access-date=June 18, 2024|archive-date=June 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617011641/https://apnews.com/article/2000-mules-film-apology-f1c2de96f17e72241761b4e6deaee5cb|url-status=live}}</ref>