Author Dinesh D’Souza, who wrote and co-directed “2016: Obama’s America,” told TheWrap Monday that a recent Associated Press report “fact-checking” his hit documentary is “a crude and inaccurate attack masquerading as a news story.”
The AP article, posted Friday and written by Beth Fouhy, was headlined “Fact Check: Anti-Colonial Obama Not Plausible.”
The AP article says that the documentary’s assertion that Obama's presidency is an expression of his father's anti-colonial political beliefs, which D'Souza first made in 2010 in his book "The Roots of Obama's Rage," is “almost entirely subjective and a logical stretch at best.”
Also read: Dinesh D'Souza: Fact-Checking AP's Fact Check on '2016: Obama's America'
In an op-ed piece for TheWrap, D’Souza writes that “this fact-checking article required its own fact-checker,” and suggests that AP publish an apology.
Also read: '2016: Obama's America': What the Surprise Right-Wing Hit Says About the Election
"Certainly it's possible to debate the issues raised in the film." D'Souza writes. "If AP wanted to commission a review or op-ed article, that would be fine. But instead the news agency has published a crude and inaccurate attack masquerading as a news story."
Reached for comment by TheWrap, the Associated Press has not yet responded.
"2016 Obama's America" has grossed more than $20 million since opening eight weeks ago. It has already supplanted "Bully" as the year's leading documentary moneymaker.
It is on pace to top "Bowling for Columbine" ($21.6 million), "An Inconvenient Truth" ($24.1 million) and "Sicko" ($24.5 million) as the second-highest-grossing political documentary ever.
Michael Moore's 2004 film "Farenheit 9/11," which was highly critical of President George W. Bush, is No. 1. It took in $119 million domestically and $222 million at the worldwide box office.