Fox News election lies: “A precedent for freedom of the press”

The US broadcaster Fox News has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from then-incumbent Trump. Now the owner Murdoch admitted: It was deliberately lied to. The case could change reporting.

When it comes to the 2020 presidential election, celebrity Fox News anchors like Tucker Carlson consistently tell the following: “The result was stolen from the voters!”, “Terrifying irregularities were discovered” and “Every American should be angry and outraged be, you should be worried about what happened at the election.”

In this way, they spread the narrative of President Donald Trump, who was voted out of office. He and parts of his Republican party repeatedly claim that their victory was stolen with the help of manipulated voting machines, among other things. The vending machine manufacturer Dominion has therefore sued Fox News for spreading this false statement in court.

Media journalist Sara Fischer said on the CNN TV channel: “If Fox loses this case, it will affect the next election coverage. If Fox gets away with it, what should stop him or other media from spreading further false narratives in the future.” This is a precedent for freedom of the press, but also how to deal with fake news in the future.

Murdoch admits false testimony in court

According to US media, the station’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, was questioned under oath by a court in the state of Delaware. Media quote from the court documents: Murdoch then admitted that some of his moderators had spread false allegations about the allegedly rigged presidential election. According to Murdoch, the broadcaster should have denounced it more. The lawsuit seeks $1.6 billion in damages.

“If the jury decides that the leadership did something very wrong here, they could double or even triple the $1.6 billion fine,” CNN attorney Norm Eisen said. This is about uncovering very concrete evidence. “It’s one of the most devastating statements I’ve ever heard.”

Particularly explosive: Only recently were further court documents published. It contained excerpts from chats by prominent Fox News moderators who had publicly repeated Trump’s allegations of election manipulation. In the internal chats, on the other hand, they admitted that they themselves do not believe in the allegations, but are publicly sticking to the story for fear of the reaction of Trump fans.