Reality Continues to Beat Lies in the 2020 Big Lie Narrative

2,000 Mules edition.

Via the NYT: ‘2,000 Mules’ Producer Apologizes to Man Depicted Committing Election Fraud.

The conservative media company Salem Media Group has apologized to a Georgia man who was falsely depicted as having committed election fraud in the film “2,000 Mules,” which Salem co-produced and released in 2022.

[…]

Mr. Andrews sued Mr. D’Souza, along with Salem and two individuals associated with the right-wing election-monitoring group True the Vote, for defamation in October 2022. State investigators in Georgia have since found that Mr. Andrews committed no crime and that he had legally deposited the ballots for himself and several members of his family.

“It was never our intent that the publication of the ‘2,000 Mules’ film and book would harm Mr. Andrews,” Salem said in a statement on Friday. “We apologize for the hurt the inclusion of Mr. Andrews’s image in the movie, book and promotional materials have caused Mr. Andrews and his family.”

Salem, one of the largest radio broadcasters in the country, with 115 stations, also syndicates radio and podcast content, operates several websites and publishes a number of conservative Christian-themed magazines. It said on Friday that it had taken “2,000 Mules” off its platforms and that it would no longer distribute the film and the book.

To be sure, the damage has been done as the film has definitely been effective propaganda with some segments of the MAGA community. While I recognize that those persons are going to vote MAGA regardless, I still find it unhealthy for segments of the population to be fed lies and then have their perceptions of reality warped as a result.

This is just the latest in a long string of examples wherein when a person or entity has to actually tell the truth in relationship to some legal proceeding, they have to admit that they were lying about election fraud in 2020.

Hopefully there is justice for Mr. Andrws beyond just an apology and having the book and film out of circulation.

In September, a federal judge in Georgia rejected efforts by defendants to dismiss Mr. Andrews’s defamation case. The case is pending.

FILED UNDER: 2024 Election, Law and the Courts, US Politics, , , , ,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Gavin says:

    How dare this subhuman restrict the freedom of speech which merely intentionally made a false accusation which would be a felony were it to be true! It’s locker room talk!
    If they come for this fraud, they’re coming for your fraud next, and all this criminalizing of fraud is definitely tyranny and not a normal, functioning legal system!

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  2. becca says:

    What is the ultimate goal of Conservative Inc? How do we combat the corrosive lies and still preserve freedom of speech?
    I think that’s probably the ultimate goal – to so abuse free speech we are willing to give up our freedoms.

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  3. Gavin says:

    I don’t think the conservatives who speak this wild nonsense have the capacity for or interest in long-term planning.
    Other than the stuff pushed by FedSoc aka the billionaires fronted by Leonard Leo, it’s all immediate feelings.. aka vibes.
    It’s exactly the same concept as Cancel Culture….. These people have been the ones doing the canceling since time immemorial [JimCrow, poll tax etc] but once they’re not able to get away with [and be praised for] doing wildly discriminatory familyblog, OhNoes Now We’re Losing Our Country.

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  4. gVOR10 says:

    @becca:

    What is the ultimate goal of Conservative Inc? How do we combat the corrosive lies and still preserve freedom of speech?

    What @Gavin: said plus: The ultimate goal is a glibertarian paradise with highly regressive taxes and lax regulation. The abortion, guns, gays, woke stuff is all facade to con people who feel the elites screwed them into voting for the very same elites who screwed them.

    A start at combatting the lies would be getting the money out of politics. Of course that requires a 2/3 Senate majority to impeach a few justices.

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  5. steve says:

    I wonder if he has a better chance of getting money out of Salem than they do out of Rudy who has apparently not been paying up while continuing to live well? I think Fox actually did pay Dominion but that was a settlement.

    Steve

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