A new lawsuit sheds fresh light on how Fox News’ propaganda machine works from the inside — at the same time that the network is trying to extract even more from cable news subscribers. Former Fox News producer Jason Donner is suing the network, alleging that he was fired for challenging its coverage of the 2020 election, the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, and vaccines. Donner’s lawsuit, including a new filing this week, is a first-person perspective on how the sausage is made, as truth-tellers are marginalized and ultimately forced out.
In recent years, we’ve seen a mountain of evidence unearthed via the legal system showing that Fox News operates as a propaganda outlet. Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox, which resulted in a record $787 million settlement, revealed how the network was a clearinghouse of misinformation. Media Matters President Angelo Carusone has described the Dominion filings as offering “a keyhole view into the day-to-day industrial-scale deceit that takes place at Fox.”
“It was clear to Donner that the reprimand … came from upper management.”
Donner’s suit is another tantalizing glimpse inside the Fox News machine. The filing — and its claims that have not yet been proven in a court of law, for the record — alleges he received backlash internally for publicly disputing Rudy Giuliani’s allegations about voter fraud at the latter’s wild, lie-filled Nov. 19, 2020, press conference. According to Donner, he was reprimanded for contextualizing Giuliani’s misleading statements. As he alleged in the complaint, his then-boss “stated that she would ‘let it go’ but that Donner needed to be careful moving forward. … It was clear to Donner that the reprimand … came from upper management. From this point on, Donner had a target on his back with upper management.” (Neither a Fox News spokesperson nor lawyers for the network responded to NBC News’ requests for comment.)
We knew from Dominion filings that a…
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