Editing Dinesh D'Souza (section)

==Career as author, political commentator, and filmmaker==
===Authorship===
====''The End of Racism''====
In 1995, D'Souza published ''The End of Racism'', in which he claimed that exaggerated claims of racism are holding back progress among African Americans in the United States. He defended the Southern slave owners and said, "The American slave was treated like property, which is to say, pretty well."<ref>{{cite book|title=The End of Racism: Finding Values In An Age Of Technoaffluence|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1996|page=91|first=Dinesh|last=D'Souza|isbn=978-0-684-82524-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNV3XwST4WIC&pg=PA91}}</ref> D'Souza also called for a repeal of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], and argued: "Given the intensity of black rage and its appeal to a wide constituency, whites are right to be nervous. Black rage is a response to black suffering and failure, and reflects the irresistible temptation to attribute African American problems to a history of white racist oppression."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Heilbrunn|first=Jacob|date=May 31, 2018|title=Trump Pardoned Dinesh D'Souza to Troll Liberals|url=https://politi.co/2Jm9Ta6|access-date=2021-06-20|website=[[Politico]]|language=en}}</ref>

A reviewer for ''[[The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education]]'' responded to the book by posting a list of 16 recent racist incidents against black people.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education]]|title=Dinesh D'Souza's Race Merchants|volume=9|year=1995|issue=9|page=16|doi=10.2307/2962605|jstor=2962605}}</ref> [[Michael Bérubé]], in a lengthy review article, referred to the book as "encyclopedic pseudoscience", calling it illogical and saying some of the book's policy recommendations are [[fascist]]; he stated that it is "so egregious an affront to human decency as to set a new and sorry standard for 'intellectual'".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review: Extreme Prejudice; Rev. of ''The End of Racism'' by Dinesh D'Souza|author-link=Michael Bérubé|first=Michael|last=Bérubé|journal=Transition|volume=69|year=1996|pages=90–98|jstor=2935241}}</ref>

The book was also panned by many other critics: John David Smith, in ''[[The Journal of Southern History]]'', said D'Souza claims blacks are inferior and opines that "D'Souza bases his terribly insensitive, reactionary polemic on sound bite statistical and historical evidence, frequently gleaned out of context and patched together illogically. His book is flawed because he ignores the complex causes and severity of white racism, misrepresents [[Cultural relativism|Boas's arguments]], and undervalues the matrix of ignorance, fear, and long-term economic inequality that he dubs black cultural pathology. How, according to his own logic, can allegedly inferior people uplift themselves without government assistance?" He adds that D'Souza's "biased diatribe trivializes serious pathologies, white and black, and adds little to our understanding of America's painful racial dilemma".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review of ''The End of Racism'' by Dinesh D'Souza|first=John David|last=Smith|journal=[[The Journal of Southern History]]|volume=62|issue=3|year=1996|pages=640–43|doi=10.2307/2211572|jstor=2211572}}</ref>

The prepublication version of the book contained a chapter dedicated to those portrayed by D'Souza as authentic racists, including many [[Paleoconservatism|paleoconservatives]], such as prominent philosopher and [[Washington times|''The Washington Times'']] editor [[Samuel T. Francis]], to whom he attributed several false quotes at the inaugural [[American Renaissance (magazine)|''American Renaissance'']] conference. A column by D'Souza in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' containing this material led to Francis being fired.<ref>Dinesh D'Souza, "Racism: It's a White (and Black) Thing", ''[[The Washington Post]]'', September 24, 1995.</ref> D'Souza's account of Francis's speech was contradicted by video of the event. American Renaissance organizer [[Jared Taylor]] took legal action against D'Souza for several false claims, including that speakers had used racial slurs, resulting in publisher [[Free Press (publisher)|Free Press]] canceling the initial run and forcing D'Souza to rewrite portions of the book. Some observers, such as [[The Baltimore Sun|''Baltimore Sun'']] writer [[Gregory Kane (journalist)|Gregory Kane]] noted that D'Souza's book bore many similarities to Taylor's 1992 work ''Paved with Good Intentions,'' despite D'Souza accusing Taylor of racism''.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stigmatizing blacks rightly draws fire |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-06-26-9906270231-story.html |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=Baltimore Sun |date=June 26, 1999 |language=en |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531051424/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-06-26-9906270231-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Many right-wing critics, such as [[Lawrence Auster]], believed that D'Souza was attacking Francis and others to protect himself from accusations of racism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Racism Debate |url=https://www.americanheritage.com/our-racism-debate-0 |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=American Heritage |language=en |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531091452/https://www.americanheritage.com/our-racism-debate-0 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Race and Reality |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1995/10/07/race-and-reality/b3e42928-753d-4dac-8588-7cf5b04143cd/ |access-date=2022-04-15 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-01-14 |title=The Castaway |url=https://americasfuture.org/the-castaway/ |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=America's Future |language=en-US |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521070115/https://americasfuture.org/the-castaway/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Washington Examiner recycles Dinesh D'Souza's smear of Samuel Francis |url=http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/003112.html |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=www.amnation.com |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811092455/http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/003112.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Paul Finkelman]] commented on what he called D'Souza's trivialization of racism. In a review article called "The Rise of the New Racism", Finkelman stated that much of what D'Souza says is untrue, and much is only partially true, and described the book as being "like a parody of scholarship, where selected 'facts' are pulled out of any recognizable context, and used to support a particular viewpoint". In Finkelman's opinion, the book exemplifies a "new racism", which "(1) denies the history of racial oppression in America; (2) rejects biological racism in favor of an attack on black culture; and (3) supports formal, de jure equality in order to attack civil rights laws that prohibit private discrimination and in order to undermine any public policies that might monitor equality and give it substantive meaning".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review: The Rise of the New Racism; Rev. of ''The End of Racism'' by Dinesh D'Souza|first=Paul|last=Finkelman|author-link=Paul Finkelman|journal=[[Yale Law & Policy Review]]|volume=15|issue=1|year=1996|pages=245–82|jstor=40239481}}</ref>

The conservative black economist [[Glenn Loury]] severed his ties with the [[American Enterprise Institute]] over the organization's role in the publication of the book. Loury wrote that the book "violated canons of civility and commonality", with D'Souza "determined to place poor, urban blacks outside the orbit of American civilization."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Prashad|first=Vijay|date=2019-02-13|title=Anti-D'Souza: The Ends of Racism and the Asian American|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.17953/amer.24.1.a9091q81w3546q17|journal=Amerasia Journal|volume=24|issue=1 |pages=23–40|language=en|doi=10.17953/amer.24.1.a9091q81w3546q17|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=L. Riley|first=Jason|date=2002-03-04|title=A Black Intellectual Takes It All Back|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1015202837873661920|access-date=2021-01-19|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=January 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127210538/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1015202837873661920|url-status=live}}</ref>

====''What's So Great About America''====
In the second chapter of his 2002 book, ''What's So Great About America'', D'Souza argues that while [[colonialism]] was terrible, it had the unintended consequence of lifting third world countries up to Western civilization. D'Souza writes, "I realize that in saying these things I am opening the door for my critics, and the incorrigible enemies of the West, to say that I am justifying colonialism ... This is the purest nonsense. What I am doing is pointing out a historical fact: despite the corrupt and self-serving motives of [its] practitioners ... colonialism ... proved to be the mechanism that brought millions of nonwhite people into the orbit of Western freedom." He holds up the European colonization of India as an example, arguing that in the long run colonization was beneficial for India, because it introduced Western law, universities, infrastructure, and the like, while effectively ending [[human sacrifice]], the practice of [[Sati (practice)|''Sati'']], and other "charming indigenous customs".<ref>{{cite book|title=What's So Great About America|author=Dinesh D'Souza|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whatssogreatabou00dsou_0/page/56 56–59, 174]|date=2002|publisher=the Penguin Group|isbn=978-0-14-200301-5|url=https://archive.org/details/whatssogreatabou00dsou_0/page/56}}</ref>

In a review of the book, economist [[Thomas Sowell]] wrote that D'Souza's book exposed the fallacies and hypocrisies of various criticisms of the United States by the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]], "domestic [[multiculturalism|multiculturalist]] cults," those who seek [[reparations for slavery]], and the worldwide intelligentsia. According to Sowell: "Perhaps it takes somebody from outside to truly appreciate all the blessings that too many native-born Americans take for granted. D'Souza understands how rare—sometimes unique—these blessings are."<ref name="sowell">{{cite web|first=Thomas|last=Sowell|url=http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1639|title=What's So Great About America?|publisher=Capitalism Magazine|date=June 7, 2002|access-date=October 1, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030613005322/http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1639|archive-date=June 13, 2003}}</ref> Sowell also wrote that D'Souza challenges the notion that all world cultures are equal: "D'Souza challenges one of the central premises of today's intelligentsia: The equality of all cultures. 'If one begins with the multicultural premise that all cultures are equal, then the world as it is makes very little sense,' he says. Some cultures have completely outperformed others in providing the things that all people seek—health, food, housing, security, and the amenities of life."<ref name=sowell/>

====''The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and its Responsibility for 9/11''====
In early 2007, D'Souza published ''The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and its Responsibility for 9/11'', in which he argues that the American cultural left was in large part responsible for the Muslim anger that led to the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref name="salon.com/news">{{cite web|last1=Koppelman|first1=Alex|title=How the left caused 9/11, by Dinesh D'Souza|url=http://www.salon.com/2007/01/20/d_souza_2|website=Salon.com|access-date=June 29, 2015|date=January 20, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703123243/http://www.salon.com/2007/01/20/d_souza_2/|archive-date=July 3, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He argues that Muslims do not hate America because of its freedom and democracy, but because they perceive America to be imposing its moral depravity (support for sexual licentiousness) on the world.<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/219722/eyeing-enemy/interview Eyeing the Enemy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422160242/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/219722/eyeing-enemy/interview |date=April 22, 2012 }}, Nationalreview.com; retrieved May 20, 2012.</ref> D'Souza also argues that the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse]] was a result of "the sexual immodesty of liberal America", and asserts that the conditions of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]] "are comparable to the accommodations in mid-level Middle Eastern hotels."<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|date=February 6, 2007|title=Dispatch From Gomorrah, Savaging the Cultural Left|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/books/06kaku.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210530065708/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/books/06kaku.html|archive-date=May 30, 2021|access-date=May 30, 2021|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

The book was criticized in major American newspapers and magazines and described as, among other things, "the worst nonfiction book about terrorism published by a major house since 9/11"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011200082.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Incendiary|first=Warren|last=Bass|date=January 14, 2007|access-date=May 1, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102174217/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011200082.html|archive-date=November 2, 2012}}</ref> and "a national disgrace".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/books/review/Wolfe.t.html|title=The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 – By Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Alan|last=Wolfe|date=January 21, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315035519/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/books/review/Wolfe.t.html|archive-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref> [[Michiko Kakutani]] in ''[[The New York Times]]'' described it as "a nasty stewpot of intellectually untenable premises and irresponsible speculation that frequently reads like a ''Saturday Night Live'' parody of the crackpot right."<ref name=":1" />

D'Souza's book caused controversy in the conservative movement. His conservative critics widely mocked his thesis that the cultural left was responsible for 9/11. In response, D'Souza posted a 6,500-word essay on ''[[National Review Online]]'',<ref>{{cite news|first=Dinesh|last=D'Souza|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/03/closing-conservative-mind-part-i-dinesh-dsouza/|title=The Closing of the Conservative Mind|work=National Review Online|date=March 12, 2007|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425202011/https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/03/closing-conservative-mind-part-i-dinesh-dsouza/|archive-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref> and ''NRO'' subsequently published a litany of responses from conservative authors who accused D'Souza of character assassination, [[elitism]] and pseudo-intellectualism.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=NR Symposium|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/03/enemy-dsouza-knows-nro-symposium/|title=An NRO Symposium on ''The Enemy at Home''|magazine=National Review Online|date=March 16, 2007|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425202011/https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/03/enemy-dsouza-knows-nro-symposium/|archive-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref>

====''The Roots of Obama's Rage''====
The September 2010 book by D'Souza, ''The Roots of Obama's Rage'' (published in condensed form in a September 2010 ''[[Forbes]]'' op-ed), interprets President [[Barack Obama]]'s past and how it formed his beliefs. D'Souza states that Obama is "living out his father's dream", so that "[i]ncredibly, the U.S. is being ruled according to the dreams of a Luo tribesman of the 1950s", who, D'Souza goes on to describe as a "philandering, inebriated African socialist".<ref name="forbes-HOT">{{cite magazine|last=D'Souza|first=Dinesh|date=September 9, 2010|title=How Obama Thinks|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0927/politics-socialism-capitalism-private-enterprises-obama-business-problem.html|url-status=live|magazine=[[Forbes]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928145329/http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0927/politics-socialism-capitalism-private-enterprises-obama-business-problem.html|archive-date=September 28, 2010|access-date=September 27, 2010}}</ref> The book appeared on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] for four weeks in October–November 2010.<ref name="Schuessler" />

Ryan Chittum, in an article in the ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'', described the ''Forbes'' article as "a fact-twisting, error-laden piece of paranoia ... the worst kind of smear journalism—a singularly disgusting work".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Chittum|first=Ryan|date=September 13, 2010|title=Forbes' Shameful Piece on Obama as the "Other"|url=https://www.cjr.org/the_audit/forbes_shameful_obama_dinesh_dsouza.php|url-status=live|magazine=Columbia Journalism Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223012842/http://cjr.org/the_audit/forbes_shameful_obama_dinesh_dsouza.php/|archive-date=December 23, 2016|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> Commentators on both the right and left strongly disputed assertions made about Obama in the book and article. The left-leaning [[Media Matters for America]] wrote that "''The Roots of Obama's Rage'' [was] rooted in lies".<ref>{{cite news|last=Maloy|first=Simon|date=October 4, 2010|title=D'Souza's The Roots of Obama's Rage rooted in lies|publisher=[[Media Matters]]|url=http://mediamatters.org/research/2010/10/04/dsouzas-the-roots-of-obamas-rage-rooted-in-lies/171476|url-status=live|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223185906/http://mediamatters.org/research/2010/10/04/dsouzas-the-roots-of-obamas-rage-rooted-in-lies/171476|archive-date=February 23, 2017}}</ref> Daniel Larison of ''[[The American Conservative]]'' stated: "Dinesh D'Souza has authored what may possibly be the most ridiculous piece of Obama analysis yet written ... All in all, D'Souza's article reads like a bad conspiracy theory."<ref name=":13">{{cite magazine|last=Larison|first=Daniel|date=September 9, 2010|title=Obama, Anticolonial Hegemonist?|url=http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/obama-anticolonial-hegemonist|url-status=live|magazine=The American Conservative|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401235440/http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/obama-anticolonial-hegemonist/|archive-date=April 1, 2016|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> Larison criticized D'Souza's suggestion that Obama is anti-business, citing a lack of evidence.<ref name=":13" /> [[Andrew Ferguson]] of ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'' wrote, "D'Souza always sees absence of evidence as evidence of something or other ... There is, indeed, a name for the beliefs that motivate President Obama, but it's not anticolonialism; it's not even socialism. It's liberalism!".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ferguson|first=Andrew|date=October 25, 2010|title=The Roots of Lunacy|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/roots-lunacy_508809.html|url-status=dead|magazine=The Weekly Standard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911073239/http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/roots-lunacy_508809.html|archive-date=September 11, 2015|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> The magazine published D'Souza's letter, in which he expressed surprise "at the petty, vindictive tone of Andrew Ferguson's review".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Halper|first=Daniel|date=October 25, 2010|title=The Roots of Lunacy, Cont.|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/roots-lunacy-cont_511913.html?page=2|url-status=dead|magazine=The Weekly Standard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029020818/http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/roots-lunacy-cont_511913.html?page=2|archive-date=October 29, 2014|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref>

====''America: Imagine the World Without Her''====
D'Souza wrote the book ''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' on which his [[America: Imagine the World Without Her|2014 film of the same]] name is based. When the warehouse club [[Costco]] pulled the book from its shelves shortly before the film's release, conservative media and fans on social media criticized the move. Costco said it pulled the book due to low sales. D'Souza disputed the explanation, saying the book had only been out a few weeks and had surged to No. 1 on [[Amazon.com]], while Costco stocked hundreds of much lower-selling books. He and other conservatives asserted it was pulled because one of Costco's co-founders, [[James Sinegal]], supported Obama's politics.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/dinesh-dsouza-says-costcos-decision-to-pull-his-book-from-stores-was-political-123006|title=Dinesh D'Souza Says Costco's Decision to Pull His Book From Stores Was Political|last1=Barnhart|first1=Melissa|date=July 9, 2014|work=[[The Christian Post]]|access-date=November 6, 2014|archive-date=January 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121042939/http://www.christianpost.com/news/dinesh-dsouza-says-costcos-decision-to-pull-his-book-from-stores-was-political-123006/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/07/08/costco-pulls-book-by-anti-obama-author-dinesh-dsouza-from-its-stores|title=Costco pulls book by anti-Obama author Dinesh D'Souza from its stores|last=Connelly|first=Joel|date=July 8, 2014|work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|access-date=November 6, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205175442/http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/07/08/costco-pulls-book-by-anti-obama-author-dinesh-dsouza-from-its-stores/|archive-date=December 5, 2014}}</ref> Costco reordered the book and cited the documentary's release and related interest for the reorder.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/9/costco-re-stock-dinesh-dsouzas-america-after-publi|title=Costco caves: Dinesh D'Souza's book to be re-stocked after public outcry|last=Chasmar|first=Jessica|date=July 9, 2014|work=[[The Washington Times]]|access-date=November 6, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008014930/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/9/costco-re-stock-dinesh-dsouzas-america-after-publi/|archive-date=October 8, 2014}}</ref>

====''The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left''====
In July 2017, D'Souza published ''The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left''. In the book, D'Souza asserts that the 2016 Democratic Party platform was similar to the platform of the [[Nazi Germany|Third Reich]]. The statement received media attention in 2018 when repeated by [[Donald Trump Jr.]] [[PolitiFact]] gave the claim its "''Pants-on-Fire''" rating, noting that "only a small number of elements of the two platforms are clearly similar, and those are so uncontroversial that they appear in the Republican platform as well."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/aug/03/donald-trump-jr/did-nazi-platform-echo-democratic-platform-donald-/|title=Nazi platform did not echo today's Democratic platform|work=@politifact|access-date=August 4, 2018|language=en|archive-date=August 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805051235/https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/aug/03/donald-trump-jr/did-nazi-platform-echo-democratic-platform-donald-/|url-status=live}}</ref> Historians refuted D'Souza's assertion, with [[University of Maryland, Baltimore|University of Maryland]] historian and Barack Obama critic [[Jeffrey Herf]] saying, "There is not the slightest, tiny sliver in which this could be even somewhat accurate."<ref name=":0" /> In another review of the book, historian [[Nicole Hemmer]], then of the University of Virginia's [[Miller Center of Public Affairs]], wrote: "For a book about secret Nazis, ''The Big Lie'' is surprisingly dull ... ''The Big Lie'' thus adds little to the no-you're-the-fascist genre on the right".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hemmer |first=Nicole |date=August 1, 2017 |title=Ideology Out, Hucksterism In: The decline of Dinesh D'Souza mirrors that of the Republican Party. |url=https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-08-01/dinesh-dsouzas-the-big-lie-mirrors-the-decline-of-the-gop |access-date=May 30, 2022 |website=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531105611/https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-08-01/dinesh-dsouzas-the-big-lie-mirrors-the-decline-of-the-gop |url-status=live }}</ref> ''New York Times'' columnist [[Ross Douthat]] criticized the book, saying it was a "plea-for-attention" by D'Souza, and that the author had "become a hack". Douthat further stated, "Because D'Souza has become a professional deceiver, what he adds are extraordinary elisions, sweeping calumnies and laughable leaps."<ref>{{Cite news|first=Ross|last=Douthat|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/02/opinion/sunday/conservatism-jeff-flake-dsouza.html|title=Right-Wing Books, Wrong Answers|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 2, 2017|access-date=September 28, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928102947/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/02/opinion/sunday/conservatism-jeff-flake-dsouza.html|archive-date=September 28, 2017}}</ref>

In an article for ''[[The American Conservative]],'' historian and philosopher [[Paul Gottfried]], who has written extensively on the subject of fascism, harshly criticized a [[PragerU]] video hosted by D'Souza which maintained that fascism was a leftist ideology. D'Souza also maintained that Italian philosopher [[Giovanni Gentile]], who influenced Italian fascism, was a leftist, to which Gottfried noted that this contradicted the research by "almost all scholars of Gentile's work, from across the political spectrum, who view him, as I do in my study of fascism, as the most distinguished intellectual of the revolutionary right."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/right-wing-celebrities-play-fast-and-loose-with-history/|title=Right-wing Celebrities Play Fast and Loose With History|last=Gottfried|first=Paul|website=The American Conservative|date=December 27, 2017|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-27|archive-date=June 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615140225/https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/right-wing-celebrities-play-fast-and-loose-with-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Christian apologetics series====
{{Expand section|date=May 2021}}
D'Souza's [[Christian apologetics]] books, ''What's So Great About Christianity'' and ''Life After Death: The Evidence'', were both on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/bestseller/1111besthardnonfiction.html |title=''The New York Times'' Bestsellers |website=[[The New York Times]] |date= November 11, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517105346/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/bestseller/1111besthardnonfiction.html |archive-date=2013-05-17}}</ref>

===Filmmaking===
D'Souza has written and directed a number of [[conspiracy theory|conspiracist]] [[political films]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/dinesh-dsouza-if-it-can-happen-to-me-it-can-happen-to-you-the-world-according-to-police-state/|website=MotherJones|first=Stephanie|last=Mencimer|title=If it can happen to me, it can happen to you: The world according to 'Police State'|access-date=June 26, 2024|archive-date=June 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626184513/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/dinesh-dsouza-if-it-can-happen-to-me-it-can-happen-to-you-the-world-according-to-police-state/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====''2016: Obama's America'' film (2012)====
{{Main|2016: Obama's America}}
D'Souza wrote and co-directed the documentary-style polemical film ''[[2016: Obama's America]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sharkey |first=Betsy |date=August 26, 2012 |title=2016: Obama's America' goes by the book |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-obamas-america-critics-notebook-2016-20120827,0,3566497.story?dssReturn |access-date=February 1, 2018}}</ref> Through interviews and reenactments, the film compares the similarities in the lives of D'Souza and President [[Barack Obama]]. D'Souza suggested that early influences on Obama affected the decisions he made as president. The film's [[tagline]] is "Love him or hate him, you don't know him." The film has been criticized on the grounds that what D'Souza claims to be an investigation of Obama includes considerable projection, speculation, and selective borrowing from Obama's autobiography, to prove D'Souza's own narrative.<ref>{{cite news|first=Andy|last=Webster|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/movies/2016-obamas-america-by-dinesh-dsouza.html|title=Documentary Exploring Obama's Political Roots|work=The New York Times|date=August 12, 2012|access-date=September 7, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816071016/http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/movies/2016-obamas-america-by-dinesh-dsouza.html|archive-date=August 16, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Beth|last=Fouhy|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/28/is-dsouzas-anti-obama-film-subjective/?page=all#pagebreak|title=Is D'Souza's anti-Obama film 'subjective'?|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]|date=August 28, 2012|access-date=September 7, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904113925/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/28/is-dsouzas-anti-obama-film-subjective/?page=all#pagebreak|archive-date=September 4, 2012}}</ref> In a "Fact Check" of the film, the [[Associated Press]] found that D'Souza provided little or no evidence for most of his claims, noted that several allegations were factually false, and described the film's central thesis as "almost entirely subjective and a logical stretch at best."<ref>{{Cite news|first=Beth|last=Fouhy|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/news/fact-check-anti-obama-film-muddy-facts-072153385--politics.html|title=Fact Check: Anti-Obama film muddy on facts|publisher=Yahoo! Entertainment|date=August 28, 2012|access-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912012700/https://www.yahoo.com/movies/news/fact-check-anti-obama-film-muddy-facts-072153385--politics.html|archive-date=September 12, 2017}}</ref>

After a limited release beginning July 13, 2012, the film expanded to over 1,000 theaters in late August 2012, and reached more than 2,000 theaters before the end of September 2012, eventually grossing more than $33.4 million.<ref name="bomojodoc">{{cite web |title=Documentary Movies at the Box Office – Box Office Mojo |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830030116/http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm |archive-date=August 30, 2012 |access-date=December 23, 2016 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> It is the fifth highest-grossing documentary-style film in the United States during the last four decades,<ref name="bomojodoc" /> and the second highest-grossing political documentary.<ref name="bomojopoldoc">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=politicaldoc.htm|title=Documentary – Political Movies at the Box Office – Box Office Mojo|publisher=boxofficemojo.com|access-date=December 23, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110083242/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=politicaldoc.htm|archive-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>

The Obama administration described the film as "an insidious attempt to dishonestly smear the president".<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 5, 2012|title='2016: Obama's America' is a deliberate distortion of President Obama's record and world view|url=http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/entry/2016-obamas-america-is-a-deliberate-distortion-of-president-obamas-record-a|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107234935/http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/entry/2016-obamas-america-is-a-deliberate-distortion-of-president-obamas-record-a|archive-date=November 7, 2012|access-date=November 27, 2020|website=barackobama.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Cavan|last=Sieczkowski|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/obama-campaign-responds-2016-obamas-america-smear-president_n_1874978.html|title=President's Campaign Slams Anti-Obama Film '2016: Obama's America'|work=[[Huffington Post]]|date=September 11, 2012|access-date=December 23, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211060932/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/obama-campaign-responds-2016-obamas-america-smear-president_n_1874978.html|archive-date=December 11, 2016}}</ref> Later, when D'Souza was indicted for violating election law, D'Souza and his co-producers alleged that he was selectively prosecuted, and that the indictment was politically motivated retribution for the success of the film.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Bond|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmaker-indicted-673670|title='2016: Obama's America' Filmmaker Indicted for Violating Campaign Finance Laws|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=January 23, 2014|access-date=December 23, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116235616/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmaker-indicted-673670|archive-date=November 16, 2016}}</ref>

====''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' (2014)====
{{Main|America: Imagine the World Without Her}}
In March 2013, D'Souza announced work on a documentary-style film titled ''[[America: Imagine the World Without Her]]'' for release in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title='2016: Obama's America' Filmmakers Making Follow-Up Film (Exclusive)|author=Paul Bond|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmakers-making-429104|newspaper=Hollywood Reporter|date=March 16, 2013|access-date=March 17, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317213813/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmakers-making-429104|archive-date=March 17, 2013}}</ref> ''America'' was marketed to political conservatives and through Christian marketing firms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-america-marketing-targets-713396|title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Marketing Targets Church Groups|last=Bond|first=Paul|date=2014-06-19|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en|access-date=2019-01-28}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Times]]'' states that D'Souza is saying that Americans no longer have past heroes like Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan, but "we do have us" in "our struggle for the restoration of America."<ref>{{cite news|author=Harrod, Andrew E.|title=Imaging a World without America; Dinesh D'Souza's New Film Refutes Detractors Who Scorn Her History|url=http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/1/harrod-imagining-a-world-without-america|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]|location=Washington, DC|access-date=July 28, 2014|date=July 2, 2014}}</ref>

[[Lions Gate Entertainment]] released ''America'' in three theaters on June 27, 2014, and expanded its distribution on the weekend of the U.S. holiday [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] on July 4, 2014. [[CinemaScore]] reported that the opening-weekend audiences gave the film an "A+" grade.<ref name="Wrap">{{cite web|last1=Cunningham|first1=Todd|title=Dinesh D'Souza's Doc 'America' Can't Match Box-Office Lightning of His '2016: Obama's America'|url=https://www.thewrap.com/dinesh-dsouzas-doc-america-cant-match-box-office-lightning-of-his-2016-obamas-america|website=The Wrap|access-date=August 19, 2014|date=July 6, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824111616/http://www.thewrap.com/dinesh-dsouzas-doc-america-cant-match-box-office-lightning-of-his-2016-obamas-america/|archive-date=August 24, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3869&p=.htm|title=Weekend Report: 'Transformers' Repeats On Weak Independence Day Weekend – Box Office Mojo|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717153654/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3869&p=.htm|archive-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref> The film grossed {{nowrap|$14.4 million}}, which made it the highest-grossing documentary in the United States in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=america2014.htm|title=America (2014)|work=boxofficemojo.com|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=November 6, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107020924/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=america2014.htm|archive-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref>

The film review website [[Metacritic]] surveyed {{nowrap|11 movie critics}} and assessed 10 reviews as negative and 1 as mixed, with none being positive. It gave an aggregate score of 15 out of 100, which indicates "overwhelming dislike".<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/america|title=America Reviews|work=metacritic.com|publisher=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=November 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726003953/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/america|archive-date=July 26, 2014}}</ref> The similar website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] surveyed {{nowrap|24 critics}} and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 22 as negative and 2 as positive. Of the {{nowrap|24 reviews}}, it determined an average rating of 2.9 out of 10. The website gave the film an overall score of 8% and said of the consensus, "Passionate but poorly constructed, ''America'' preaches to the choir."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/america_imagine_the_world_without_her_2014|title=America: Imagine the World Without Her|work=rottentomatoes.com|publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=November 3, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111132104/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/america_imagine_the_world_without_her_2014/|archive-date=November 11, 2014}}</ref> ''The Hollywood Reporter''{{'}}s Paul Bond said the film performed well in its limited theatrical release, "overcoming several negative reviews in the mainstream media".<ref name="bond20140705">{{cite journal|last=Bond|first=Paul|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-dinesh-dsouzas-america-features-716708|title=Why Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Features Clips of Matt Damon, Woody Harrelson|journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=July 5, 2014|access-date=December 10, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416054603/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-dinesh-dsouzas-america-features-716708|archive-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref> Bond reported, "Conservatives ... seem thrilled with the movie."<ref name="bond20140705" />

====''Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party'' (2016)====
{{main|Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party}}
[[File:Dinesh D'Souza by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|D'Souza at CPAC 2016 in Washington, D.C.]]
On July 25, 2016, D'Souza released the documentary film ''Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party''.<ref name="Child">{{cite news|last1=Child|first1=Ben|title=Rightwing Firebrand Dinesh D'Souza Takes Aim at Hillary Clinton In Latest Documentary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/08/dinesh-dsouza-hillary-clinton-documentary-conservative-film-maker|date=March 8, 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=April 5, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404131430/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/08/dinesh-dsouza-hillary-clinton-documentary-conservative-film-maker|archive-date=April 4, 2016}}</ref> The film criticizes the Democratic Party and [[Hillary Clinton]], the presumptive (and ultimate) Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 2016.<ref name="Child" /><ref>{{cite web|title=D'Souza Offers a Look Inside Hillary's America|url=http://www.trunews.com/article/dsouza-offers-a-look-inside-hillarys-america|date=July 20, 2016|publisher=trunews.com|access-date=July 21, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721115656/http://www.trunews.com/article/dsouza-offers-a-look-inside-hillarys-america|archive-date=July 21, 2016}}</ref>

The film was universally panned by professional film critics. On review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 4%, based on 27 professional reviews, with an average rating of 1.7/10. The critics' consensus on the site reads, "''Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party'' finds Dinesh D'Souza once again preaching to the right-wing choir—albeit less effectively than ever."<ref name="RT">{{Rotten Tomatoes|qid=Q25999937|title=Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 1 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".<ref>{{Metacritic film|title=Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party|qid=Q25999937}}</ref> It is the lowest-rated film on the website.<ref>{{cite web|title=Best Movies of All Time|url=https://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all/filtered?sort=asc|access-date=April 5, 2021|website=[[Metacritic]]|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308110553/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all/filtered?sort=asc|url-status=live}}</ref>

Peter Sobczynski wrote, "''Hillary's America'' may well be the single dumbest documentary that I have ever seen in my life."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sobczynski|first1=Peter|date=July 15, 2016|title=Hillary's America: The Secret History Of The Democratic Party Movie Review (2016)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hillarys-america-the-secret-history-of-the-democratic-party-2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923132708/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hillarys-america-the-secret-history-of-the-democratic-party-2016|archive-date=September 23, 2016|access-date=October 13, 2016|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref> A July 2016 review in ''[[Variety magazine|Variety]]'' characterized D'Souza as "a right-wing conspiracy wingnut, the kind of "thinker" who takes off from Barack Obama birther theories and just keeps going, spinning out a web of comic-book liberal evil."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/hillarys-america-review-dinesh-dsouza-1201814480/|title=Film Review: 'Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party'|first=Owen|last=Gleiberman|date=July 15, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222044705/https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/hillarys-america-review-dinesh-dsouza-1201814480/|archive-date=February 22, 2018}}</ref> Alex Shephard of ''[[The New Republic]]'' said: {{blockquote|Because he is a very dumb man, D'Souza doesn't even make a credible argument that [[Bill Clinton|Bill]] and Hillary are corrupt, even though in many ways it's low-hanging fruit. Instead, like every fringe weirdo who comes after the Clintons does, he overreaches and invents an absurd conspiracy ... It's not enough for, say, the [[Clinton Foundation]] to have taken money from, say, [[Saudi Arabia]]—instead, Clinton is literally presented as selling America to foreign countries. Why? D'Souza never explains.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Shephard|first1=Alex|last2=Silverman|first2=Jacob|date=2016-08-05|title=How Bad Is Dinesh D'Souza's 'Hillary's America'? A Conversation.|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/135845/bad-dinesh-dsouzas-hillarys-america-conversation|access-date=2021-08-19|issn=0028-6583|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819032248/https://newrepublic.com/article/135845/bad-dinesh-dsouzas-hillarys-america-conversation|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Some conservatives viewed the film more positively. [[John Fund]] of the ''[[National Review]]'' stated that "[the film] is over the top in places and definitely selective, but the troubling facts are accurate and extensively documented in the D'Souza book that accompanies the movie." He also called the film "intensely patriotic".<ref>{{cite magazine | last1=Fund | first1=John | title=Hillary's America – A Two-by-Four Bashing Democrats | url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/438016/hillarys-america-dinesh-dsouza-democrats-racist-past-corrupt-present | date=July 18, 2016 | magazine=[[National Review]] | access-date=July 21, 2016 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721042854/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/438016/hillarys-america-dinesh-dsouza-democrats-racist-past-corrupt-present | archive-date=July 21, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> On July 23, 2016, [[Donald Trump]], who was then running as the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidential nominee against Clinton, called on supporters to see the film.<ref>{{cite news | first=Bryan | last=Alexander | title='Hillary's America' Documentary Cracks Top 10 at Box Office | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/07/24/hillarys-america-documentary-cracks-top-10-box-office/87506198/ | date=July 24, 2016 | newspaper=[[USA Today]] | access-date=July 25, 2016 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724222534/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/07/24/hillarys-america-documentary-cracks-top-10-box-office/87506198/ | archive-date=July 24, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

On January 23, 2017, the film was nominated for five [[Golden Raspberry Awards]], Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Dinesh D'Souza), Worst Actress ([[Rebekah Turner]]<ref>The video revealing the winners listed the nominee as "The 'Actress' Who Played [[Hillary Clinton]]". [[Mikaela Krantz]] also played a younger Hillary Clinton in the film, but only Rebekah Turner was on the official list of nominees.</ref><ref name="Derschowitz 2017">{{cite web | last=Derschowitz | first=Jessica | title='Zoolander No. 2,' 'Batman v Superman' Lead 2017 Razzies Nominations | website=EW.com | date=2017-01-23 | url=https://ew.com/awards/2017/01/23/razzies-2017-nominations-list/ | access-date=2024-04-02 | archive-date=April 18, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418235232/https://ew.com/awards/2017/01/23/razzies-2017-nominations-list/ | url-status=live }}</ref>), Worst Director (Dinesh D'Souza and Bruce Schooley), and Worst Screenplay.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Jessica|last=Derschowitz|url=https://ew.com/awards/2017/01/23/razzies-2017-nominations-list/|title='Zoolander No. 2,' 'Batman v Superman' Lead 2017 Razzies Nominations|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=January 23, 2017|access-date=January 23, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107021217/http://ew.com/awards/2017/01/23/razzies-2017-nominations-list/|archive-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> In response to the Razzie nominations, D'Souza stated that he was "actually quite honored" and called the nominations "petty revenge" in response to Trump's election victory, also stating that "the film might have played an important role in the election."<ref name="Petty">{{cite news | first=Bryan | last=Alexander | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/01/23/hillarys-america-director-dinesh-dsouza-calls-5-razzie-noms-petty-revenge/96969770/ | title='Hillary's America' Director D'Souza Calls 5 Razzie Noms 'Petty Revenge' | newspaper=[[USA Today]] | date=January 23, 2017 | access-date=January 24, 2017 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124014443/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/01/23/hillarys-america-director-dinesh-dsouza-calls-5-razzie-noms-petty-revenge/96969770/ | archive-date=January 24, 2017 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> D'Souza appeared in the video announcing the film as having won four of the five possible Razzies repeating his view that [[Trump Derangement Syndrome|the nominations were awarded in response to Trump's election victory]].<ref name="RazzieWinners">{{cite web | first1=Kimberly | last1=Nordyke | first2=Patrick | last2=Shanley | title=Razzie Awards: 'Batman v Superman', 'Hillary's America' Top Winners | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2017-razzie-award-winners-970378 | work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=February 25, 2017 | access-date=February 25, 2017 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226061415/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2017-razzie-award-winners-970378 | archive-date=February 26, 2017 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

====''Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time?'' (2018)====
{{main|Death of a Nation (2018 film)}}
''Death of a Nation'' had its world premiere in [[Los Angeles]], California on July 30, 2018.<ref name="bond">{{cite magazine | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-new-film-claims-democrats-racist-nazis-clip-1129938 | title=Dinesh D'Souza's New Film Makes Incendiary Claims About Democrats' History | magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=July 30, 2018 | access-date=July 31, 2018 | archive-date=March 21, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321165630/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-new-film-claims-democrats-racist-nazis-clip-1129938 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | last=Carras | first=Christi | url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/donald-trump-jr-to-co-host-death-of-a-nation-screening-in-dc-with-dinesh-dsouza-1202891884/ | title=Donald Trump Jr. to Co-Host 'Death of a Nation' Screening in D.C. With Dinesh D'Souza | magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=August 1, 2018 | access-date=August 2, 2018 | archive-date=May 7, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507021702/https://variety.com/2018/film/news/donald-trump-jr-to-co-host-death-of-a-nation-screening-in-dc-with-dinesh-dsouza-1202891884/ | url-status=live }}</ref> A showing in [[Washington, D.C.]], on August 1, 2018, was co-hosted by D'Souza and President Donald Trump's son [[Donald Trump Jr.]]<ref name="Stanley-Becker">{{cite news | last=Stanley-Becker | first=Isaac | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/02/under-trump-a-red-carpet-for-dinesh-dsouza-who-claims-hitler-was-a-liberal-in-new-documentary/ | title=Under Trump, a red carpet for Dinesh D'Souza, who claims Hitler was a liberal in new documentary | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=August 2, 2018 | access-date=August 3, 2018 | archive-date=October 18, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018165546/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/02/under-trump-a-red-carpet-for-dinesh-dsouza-who-claims-hitler-was-a-liberal-in-new-documentary/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Polus | first=Sarah | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2018/08/02/donald-trump-jr-co-hosts-dinesh-dsouzas-very-conservative-d-c-film-premiere/? | title=Donald Trump Jr. co-hosts Dinesh D'Souza's very conservative D.C. film premiere | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=August 2, 2018 | access-date=August 2, 2018 | archive-date=August 3, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803071838/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2018/08/02/donald-trump-jr-co-hosts-dinesh-dsouzas-very-conservative-d-c-film-premiere/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The film ''Death of a Nation'' centers around drawing parallels between the 45th President of the United States, [[Donald Trump]], and the 16th President of the United States, [[Abraham Lincoln]]. ''Death of a Nation'' explores the role of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in opposing both presidents. In the film, D'Souza accuses the Democratic Party—both historically and presently—of racism, [[white supremacy]], and fascism. D'Souza further argues that the political left attempt to falsely push claims of racism, white supremacy, and fascism onto the political right for political gain. He claims that the modern political left is currently using these types of accusations in attempts to remove Trump from office "by any means necessary."

The film includes numerous falsehoods and has received criticism from historians regarding aspects of historical accuracy.<ref name="herndon">{{cite news | last=Herndon | first=Astead W. | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/us/politics/dinesh-dsouza-death-of-a-nation.html | title=A New Film Compares Democrats to Nazis and Trump to Lincoln. At This Screening, It Was a Hit. | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 17, 2018 | access-date=August 21, 2018 | archive-date=February 2, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202014531/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/us/politics/dinesh-dsouza-death-of-a-nation.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/171018|title=What Dinesh D'Souza's "Death of a Nation" Gets Wrong About Martin Van Buren {{!}} History News Network|website=historynewsnetwork.org|date=February 16, 2019|access-date=2019-03-03|archive-date=March 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043702/https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/171018|url-status=live}}</ref> The film characterizes [[Adolf Hitler]] as a liberal; historians characterize Hitler and the Nazis as being far-right.<ref name="Stanley-Becker" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Broich|first=John|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/08/01/there-is-nothing-liberal-about-fascism/|title=There is nothing liberal about fascism|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 1, 2018|access-date=April 18, 2018|archive-date=January 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115014836/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/08/01/there-is-nothing-liberal-about-fascism/|url-status=live}}</ref> It also claims that Hitler was an [[LGBT]]Q sympathizer, whereas the Nazis murdered thousands of gay men and [[Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany|imprisoned homosexuals in concentration camps]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Marhoefer|first=Laurie|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/08/gay-nazi-myth-why-dinesh-dsouzas-misuse-of-history-is-so-galling.html|title=Why the Myth of the 'Gay Nazi' Is Back in Circulation|work=Slate|date=August 24, 2018|access-date=June 2, 2020|archive-date=May 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529053009/https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/08/gay-nazi-myth-why-dinesh-dsouzas-misuse-of-history-is-so-galling.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On the review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 0% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 1.9/10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_of_a_nation|title=Death of a Nation (2018)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=August 7, 2018|archive-date=April 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412220335/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_of_a_nation|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a weighted average score of 1 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/death-of-a-nation | title=Death of a Nation reviews | website=[[Metacritic]] | access-date=August 7, 2018 | archive-date=February 7, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207094128/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/death-of-a-nation | url-status=live }}</ref> [[PostTrak]] reported that filmgoers gave the film a score of 4 out of 5 stars,<ref name="opening">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/tom-cruise-mila-kunis-box-office-mission-impossible-fallout-christopher-robin-spy-who-dumped-me-1202439507/|title='Mission' Notches Best 2nd Weekend For Franchise With $35M; 'Christopher Robin' No Eeyore With $25M – Sunday Box Office|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=August 5, 2018|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|access-date=August 5, 2018|archive-date=August 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803190146/https://deadline.com/2018/08/tom-cruise-mila-kunis-box-office-mission-impossible-fallout-christopher-robin-spy-who-dumped-me-1202439507/|url-status=live}}</ref> while ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote that those polled by [[CinemaScore]] (which was paid by ''Death of a Nation''{{'}}s filmmakers to conduct polls of audiences) gave it a grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=McClintock | first=Pamela | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-why-dinesh-dsouzas-death-a-nation-didnt-get-a-trump-bump-1132318 | title=Box Office: Why Dinesh D'Souza's 'Death of a Nation' Didn't Get a Big Trump Bump | magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=August 6, 2018 | access-date=August 6, 2018 | archive-date=January 15, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115165210/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-why-dinesh-dsouzas-death-a-nation-didnt-get-a-trump-bump-1132318 | url-status=live }}</ref>

On its opening weekend, the film grossed $2.3 million on 1,032 screens, the lowest wide release for a D'Souza film.<ref name=opening /> {{As of|2018|8|19|df=US}}, the film has grossed {{nowrap|$5.3 million}}.<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |title=Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time? (2018) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=deathofanation.htm |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=August 22, 2018 |archive-date=March 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331050116/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=deathofanation.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

====''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>

====''Police State'' (2023)====
Released in October 2023, ''The Washington Post'' reported this film "uses falsehoods, misleading interviews and dramatizations to allege federal persecution of Jan. 6 rioters and Christians." It was screened at Donald Trump's [[Mar-a-Lago]] residence soon after release.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 5, 2023|first1=Isaac|last1=Arnsdorf|first2=Josh|last2=Dawsey|first3=Devlin|last3=Barrett|access-date=June 18, 2024|archive-date=November 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105234529/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====''Vindicating Trump'' (2024)====
{{Main|Vindicating Trump}}
In September 2024, D'Souza released ''Vindicating Trump'', exploring the alleged hurdles facing the former president in his 2024 bid for re-election. The documentary features an interview with Trump by D'Souza. Trump also promoted the film.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McClintock |first=Pamela |date=September 25, 2024 |title=Box Office Preview: 'The Wild Robot,' 'Megalopolis' and Pro-Donald Trump Doc All Hit the Big Screen |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/box-office-wild-robot-megalopolis-1236011231/ |access-date=September 27, 2024 |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]] |language=en-US |archive-date=September 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927012829/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/box-office-wild-robot-megalopolis-1236011231/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Media appearances and speaking engagements===
D'Souza has appeared on numerous national television networks and programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.speakersnetworkworldwide.com/SpeakerDetails/7225/Dinesh-DSouza.html|title=Dinesh D'Souza profile|publisher=Speakers Network Worldwide|access-date=September 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206011359/http://www.speakersnetworkworldwide.com/SpeakerDetails/7225/Dinesh-DSouza.html|archive-date=December 6, 2010|url-status=usurped|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Six days after the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001, attacks]], D'Souza appeared on ''[[Politically Incorrect]]'' hosted by [[Bill Maher]]. He disputed the assertion that terrorists were cowards by saying, "Look at what they did. You have a whole bunch of guys who were willing to give their life; none of them backed out. All of them slammed themselves into pieces of concrete. These are warriors." Maher agreed with D'Souza's comments and said, "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/arts/think-tank-in-new-war-on-terrorism-words-are-weapons-too.html|title=In New War on Terrorism, Words Are Weapons, Too|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Celestine|last=Bohlen|date=September 29, 2001|access-date=June 6, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113004142/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/arts/think-tank-in-new-war-on-terrorism-words-are-weapons-too.html|archive-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>

During an interview on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' on January 16, 2007, while promoting his book ''The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11'', D'Souza maintained that [[Liberalism in the United States|liberals]] had some responsibility for the September 11 attacks. He said liberals' "[[Interventionism (politics)|penchant for interference]]" had a decided effect in convincing the [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Carter administration]] to withdraw support from the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah]], which brought on Muslim fundamentalists' control of the [[Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Iranian government]]. He also said that the distorted representation of American culture on television is one source of [[Anti-Americanism|resentment of the United States]] by Muslims worldwide. D'Souza believes that traditional Muslims are not too different from traditional Jews and Christians in America. Towards the end of the interview, he admitted that he and Islamic militants share some of the same negative beliefs about liberal Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/80900/january-16-2007/dinesh-d-souza|title=The Colbert Report|publisher=colbertnation.com|date=January 16, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605174503/http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/80900/january-16-2007/dinesh-d-souza|archive-date=June 5, 2010}}</ref>

In late February 2017, students at [[Trinity University (Texas)|Trinity University]] in [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]], stole more than 200 flyers advertising D'Souza's planned appearance at the university the first week of March. D'Souza called the protest "pathetic", and suggested the demonstrators "Come out and debate me. In the best case you may win; in the worst, you'll learn something". Twin brothers Manfred and Jonah Wendt, co-founders of the student conservative group Tigers for Liberty, had passed around 600 notices of D'Souza's visit to campus. Those returned by the protesters contained negative comments about D'Souza.<ref>{{cite news|first=Lauren|last=Caruba|url=https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/Conservative-student-group-s-fliers-defaced-at-10964039.php|title=Conservative student group's fliers defaced at Trinity|newspaper=[[San Antonio Express-News]]|date=February 27, 2017|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222105244/https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/Conservative-student-group-s-fliers-defaced-at-10964039.php|archive-date=February 22, 2018}}</ref>