Fox News has faced a variety of controversies since its launch in 1996, but the revelations from Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case appear qualitatively more serious. But while the severity of the media scandal might seem obvious, what’s far less clear is what kind of consequences the network might face.
To briefly summarize, a recent court filing presented evidence that Fox News apparently promoted bogus election claims they knew to be false, on purpose, in order to placate its audience and make money. The public also learned that News Corp. Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch acknowledged under oath that some prominent Fox News hosts “endorsed” baseless claims the network knew to be wrong. (Fox News has denied all wrongdoing and is vigorously contesting the lawsuit.)
But some related details were nearly as striking. The same court filings suggested that a Fox News executive shared propriety internal information with Donald Trump’s political operation, before encouraging a different executive to help specific Republican Senate candidates.
These revelations have, not surprisingly, led to some notable complaints to the Federal Election Commission, based on the idea that this coordination may have run afoul of campaign finance laws. The former president, meanwhile, is publicly pleading with Murdoch to believe the Big Lie, including a new missive published Monday at 2:25 a.m. ET.
Democratic officials, meanwhile, appear to be weighing their options.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, for example, told The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent last week, “I don’t think we’ve ever had a moment like this, where a major news network has been exposed as deliberately deluding its viewers or readers. This is a seminal moment in the history of mass media. And we need to treat it that way.”
The Democratic senator’s comments came the day after the party’s top two lawmakers — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries —…
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