(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Rupert Murdoch admits that Fox News hosts endorsed lies about 2020 election [1] ['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-28 It’s not the only story that Fox hosts can’t talk about. Fox viewers have no idea that America has seen a year of record job growth, that manufacturing is making a big comeback in America, or that the record high deficits under Trump have been drastically cut. None of that fits with the narrative. As everything connected to the Dominion lawsuit has made clear, protecting the narrative—the one Fox wants to spread and has taught its viewers to expect—is everything. It’s not just worth putting on guests again and again when it’s clear they are lying; it’s threatening to fire a reporter for slipping up and telling the truth. To a degree that would be hilarious if it were not actively ripping apart this nation and others, Fox News simply made up whatever it needed to support its position. In their statement, Fox argued that their hosts were “reporting neutrally” concerning the election, and only bringing up the false claims about election fraud because the fact that they were coming from the Trump campaign made them newsworthy. Here’s what Murdoch had to say when questioned about these lies: Dominion attorney: You are aware now that Fox did more than simply host these guests and give them a platform; correct? Murdoch: I think you've shown me some material in support of that. Attorney: In fact, you are now aware that Fox endorsed at times this false notion of a stolen election? Murdoch: Not Fox, No. Not Fox. But maybe Lou Dobbs, maybe Maria, as commentators. Attorney: We went through Fox hosts Maria Bartiromo, yes? Murdoch: Yes. C'mon— Attorney: Fox host Jeanine Pirro? Murdoch: I think so. Attorney: Fox Business host Lou Dobbs? Murdoch: Oh, a lot. Attorney: Fox host Sean Hannity? Murdoch: A bit Attorney: All were in that document; correct? Murdoch: Yes, they were. Attorney: About Fox endorsing the narrative of a stolen election; correct? Murdoch: No. Some of our commentators were endorsing it. Attorney: About their endorsement of a stolen election? Murdoch: Yes. They endorsed. So, not Fox … just Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartilromo, Lou Dobbs, and others. The discussion didn’t even get to Carlson and Ingraham, whose own texts and emails show how blatantly they pushed claims they thought were “nuts” because it was also what they thought would serve the narrative their audience expected. In later testimony, Murdoch said that Carlson should have spoken up about guests on his show repeating known lies. In response to Dominion’s request for a summary judgment in their favor, Fox responded that everything they had done was “neutral reportage” protected by the First Amendment, rather than a deceptive campaign of lies and slander that did deliberate damage to Dominion’s business (and, not incidentally, the nation). Dominion’s latest response uses Murdoch’s own testimony to rip that claim apart: FC Chairman Rupert Murdoch admitted under oath, as he had to once he finally faced the evidence, that the hosts of the accused Fox shows did far more than just host these guests and give them a platform that would be enough for Fox to be liable. He admitted that each of the Fox hosts (other than Tucker Carlson) endorsed the stolen election lies. As for Carlson, Rupert admitted that it was wrong to host Mike Lindell on January 26,2021 to repeat those allegations against Dominion if Carlson didn't contest it. And Carlson admitted he did not contest it. For those and numerous other reasons, Fox has no viable neutral reportage defense,even if the doctrine were good law. The most amazing thing about this lawsuit so far is that Fox hasn’t gotten out the checkbook to ask Dominion how much they would take to stop. Or maybe they have, and Dominion’s numbers had more zeroes than even Murdoch could squeeze onto a check. Or maybe Fox figures none of this ultimately matters anyway. Sure, they’ve admitted they lied. Yes, they did it to forward a greater narrative that is itself a lie. But their viewers aren’t going to hear any of this, and other lie-promoting outlets like Newsmax look like much less of a threat than they did at the end of 2020. So maybe Murdoch figures just plowing on through court is the better option. Anything, so long they don’t have to tell the truth on Fox News. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/28/2155465/-Rupert-Murdoch-admits-that-Fox-News-hosts-endorsed-lies-about-2020-election Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/