Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 10, 2023
Fake News Channel
June 16, 2010
Recently released documents as part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News have revealed that many of the network’s top executives and on-air personalities privately disagreed with Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and even disliked him personally. The lawsuit, filed in March 2021, alleges that Fox News spread lies about the election in an effort to prevent viewers from switching to other networks, and is seen as a significant financial threat to the network. The case is scheduled to begin on 17 April and is expected to last five weeks.
June 12, 2019
According to the documents, while publicly casting doubt on the fairness of the election, many Fox News personalities privately doubted Trump’s claims. The owner of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, was also critical of Trump, calling his insistence on claiming foul play “terrible stuff damaging everybody.” Even Fox News personalities who publicly supported Trump, such as Tucker Carlson, privately expressed disdain for him, and has received much mockery for doing so. The documents also revealed that the network’s concern with maintaining advertising revenue was a significant factor in its decisions.
Although Fox News has released its own evidence to counter some of Dominion’s claims, the revelations from the released documents have already affected the network’s reputation and highlighted the divide between what its top personalities say in public and what they believe privately. (AI)