Fox hosts believed Biden stole election, says Murdoch
Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch admitted under oath that some Fox hosts endorsed the idea that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen, according to court documents.
The same documents, however, show that Mr. Murdoch and other Fox executives believed that Joe Biden had beaten Donald Trump and that the results were beyond doubt.
The media mogul's statement is part of Dominion Voting Systems' filing, part of the electronic voting company's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and parent company Fox Corp for coverage of the news. x27;2020 presidential election.
A five-week trial is scheduled to begin April 17 in Delaware State Court.
Mr. Murdoch's testimony is part of his deposition, which Reuters has only had access to in part, as it remains sealed.
The Dominion Company has argued that internal communications and depositions from Fox staff prove the network knowingly spread lies about Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election in order to bolster its ratings. .
For its part, Fox argued that its coverage of Mr. Trump's lawyers' allegations was newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Fox believes that Dominion's extreme interpretation of libel law would prevent the media from doing their job.
Executives at all levels of Fox, both (Fox News Network) and (Fox Corporation), knowingly opened the airwaves at Fox to Dominion conspiracy theories, wrote the company.
Asked by a Dominion lawyer whether some of the Fox commentators endorsed the idea that the 2020 election was stolen, Murdoch said yes .
Dominion sued Fox News Networks and parent company Fox Corp in March 2021 and November 2021 in Delaware Superior Court, alleging the television network amplified allegations that Dominion voting machines were used to rig the election. of 2020 against Donald Trump.
In a statement issued Monday, a Fox spokesperson said Dominion's views on libel law would prevent journalists from reporting and that its efforts to publicly defame Fox for covering and commenting on the allegations of a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what they are: a flagrant violation of the First Amendment.
The Dominion petition contains emails and statements in which Rupert Murdoch and other senior Fox executives claim that on-air statements about Dominion were false.
