Fox News future in question as Rupert Murdoch heads to court in Dominion $1.6 billion lawsuit
According to a report from the Guardian, the future of Fox News hangs in the balance with media mogul Rupert Murdoch expected to be deposed on Tuesday as part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems.
The report from the Guardian's Chris McGreal notes that lawyers for Dominion have worked their way up the corporate "tree" to Murdoch who will be put on the spot for allowing on-air personalities to spread election conspiracy rumors on the air about the 2020 presidential election.
According to the report, "The suit shines a spotlight on Fox News’ part in promoting Trump’s 'stop the steal' campaign and its hand in driving the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. But legal experts say that Dominion, which supplied voting machines to 28 states, appears to be building a wider case that Fox News has a long history of misinformation and steamrolling facts that do not fit its editorial line."
Noting that Murdoch's son Lachlan has already been put on the spot, the report adds that the elder Murdoch's testimony could be pivotal to the future of the network.
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"Months of accumulated testimony are expected to put Murdoch, the chair of Fox Corp, in the difficult position of either having to deny he has control over what happens at his most influential US news operation or defend its campaign to promote the biggest lie in US electoral history," McGreal wrote.
The report states that lawyers for Dominion "...obtained rafts of internal messages that are 'evidence that Fox knew the lies it was broadcasting about Dominion were false and part of a culture of politically loaded reporting and broadcasts far from the network’s claim to be 'fair and balanced."
According to one Dominion attorney, "It’s an orchestrated effort. It’s not just on the part of each host individually, but it’s across Fox News as a company.”