Fox News is on an unlikely collision course with two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination over the rights of journalists.
In defending itself against a massive defamation lawsuit over how it covered false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election, the network is relying on a nearly 60-year-old Supreme Court ruling that makes it difficult to successfully sue media organizations for libel.
In an email a few weeks after the 2020 election, Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch described a news conference featuring Powell and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, another attorney who pushed the election lies: “Really crazy stuff. And damaging.” Some advocates for free speech worry that the Dominion-Fox lawsuit ultimately could give a conservative Supreme Court a chance to revisit the standard set in the case, known as New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. While the case has been among the court’s most durable precedents, the newly empowered conservative majority has indicated a willingness to challenge what had been considered settled law - as it did last year in overturning abortion rights.
Murdoch was among several at Fox to say privately they didn’t believe the claims made by Trump and his allies that widespread fraud cost him reelection. In his deposition, Murdoch said he could have prevented guests who were spouting conspiracies from going on the air, but didn’t. Fox said Dominion is presenting an extreme view of defamation, one in which the network had a duty not to report the allegations but to suppress them or denounce them as false.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fox libel defense at odds with top GOP presidential foesThe network is relying on a nearly 60-year-old Supreme Court ruling that makes it difficult to successfully sue media organizations for libel.
Read more »
Texas GOP censures Rep. Tony Gonzales for 'lack of fidelity' to Republican PartyThe Texas Republican Party censured Rep. Tony Gonzales on Saturday for his 'lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities,' after the congressman defied the GOP on key issues including immigration, guns, and House rules.
Read more »
Texas GOP Congressman’s Ongoing Votes Against Party Issues Could Result in GOP CensureRep. Gonzales broke with his party to support gun safety measures and same-sex marriage protection.
Read more »
Fox News’ legal defense in libel case puts it at odds with Trump, DeSantisEye-catching evidence has emerged from court filings in recent weeks revealing a split screen between what Fox was portraying to its viewers about the false claims of election fraud and what hosts and executives were saying about them behind the scenes.
Read more »
Sununu pushes back on DeSantis' crusade against 'woke' corporations: 'That's not what Republicans are about'Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire tells Fox News he disagrees with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ culture wars strategy of targeting corporations over woke policy
Read more »
Conservative Media Pay Little Attention to Revelations About Fox NewsFox News and its sister network, Fox Business, have avoided the story. Newsmax and One America News, Fox’s rivals on the right, have steered clear, too. So have a constellation of right-wing websites and podcasts. Over the past two weeks, legal filings containing private messages and testimony from Fox hosts and executives revealed that many of them had serious doubts that Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election through widespread voter fraud, even as those claims were made repeatedly on
Read more »