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☆ Fox News producer files explosive lawsuits against the network, alleging she was coerced into providing misleading Dominion testimony
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —A Fox News producer on Monday filed a pair of explosive lawsuits against the right-wing talk channel, alleging that the network’s lawyers coerced her into providing misleading testimony in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation case against the company. The lawsuits from Grossberg, who has since been placed on administrative leave by Fox, were filed in Delaware Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. “It’s another example of Fox News not only shying away from the truth, but attempting to bury the truth,” Filippatos told CNN. Grossberg named Carlson and members of his staff in the lawsuit filed in New York. “I’ve covered many stories while I have been there,” Grossberg told CNN.

☆ Fox News sued a Tucker Carlson producer named in the Dominion lawsuit for threatening to expose its legal secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jack Newsham | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Fox News says Abby Grossberg threatened to file a discrimination lawsuit that will reveal secrets. Dominion included Grossberg's texts and testimony in its defamation lawsuit against Fox. The network sued Abby Grossberg on Monday, claiming that she has threatened to sue Fox News for discrimination and retaliation. Fox News's suit against Grossberg didn't mention Dominion, referring only to an "unrelated lawsuit," but details in its complaint and in the record of the Dominion lawsuit make the connection clear. Dominion sued Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corporation, in March 2021, alleging it defamed the election technology company when its hosts allowed Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, two pro-Trump lawyers, to come on air.

☆ Fox News is unlikely to face pushback from professional journalism groups after court documents revealed it lied to viewers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The White House Correspondents' Association doesn't police member conduct, a former board member said. A number of professional organizations told Insider that Fox News fell well short of the standards expected in the profession. "Journalism receives significant protections from the First Amendment and with those protections come profound responsibilities," McCarran told Insider. Evidence made public in Dominion's lawsuit shows how Fox employees — beyond just hosts of opinion shows — had priorities other than telling their viewers the truth. "There are left-wing publications, right-wing publications, there are government-owned publications — there's Voice of America, foreign news organizations," the former board member said. "

☆ Blackface, booze, and blurred lines at the $2 billion tech firm Rokt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jack Newsham | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

A cropped version of an image shared with Rokt employees at the 2020 meeting. Buchanan told Insider. "We think it's important that we stand up and fight it," he told Insider when asked about that message. In an email, Viles told Insider that he hasn't had any day-to-day involvement with Rokt since 2020, when he did some contract work. Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesOne employee told Insider they were encouraged to post the photos and proclaim 2023 to be Rokt's "best year yet."

☆ Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch dismisses $1.6 billion defamation case revelations as ‘noise’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch on Thursday dismissed the revelations from Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News as “noise,” throwing his support behind the right-wing talk channel in his first comments since the case enveloped the company in major scandal. Among the thousands of pages of documents released in the case include repeated statements from Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch rejecting conspiracy theories about Dominion. However, Dominion said its position is that “confidential treatment of these materials is not warranted” based on case law standards. Filings in the case reviewed by CNN have included numerous redactions passages, including when Fox executives and personalities are quoted. The significant redactions have raised eyebrows about what Fox News is trying to prevent from being made public.

☆ Rupert Murdoch told Jared Kushner his team said Biden's ads were more creative than Trump's ahead of the election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rupert Murdoch told Jared Kushner his team said Biden's ads were more creative than Trump's. Dominion is suing Fox News for defamation related to election fraud claims involving the company. In a follow-up email, Murdoch told Kushner their new Sunday ad was "an improvement" but that one of Biden's was "extremely good," adding: "Or I think so! In a filing that was released last week, Dominion accused Murdoch of sharing "confidential information" with Kushner ahead of the election. "During Trump's campaign, Rupert provided Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, with Fox confidential information about Biden's ads, along with debate strategy (providing Kushner a preview of Biden's ads before they were public)," lawyers for Dominion wrote.

The hundreds of pages of new documents include previously unreleased excerpts from key depositions, including Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch, and are part of Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News. The transcript was part of a trove of text messages, emails, and other material from Fox News executives and on-air personalities that were made public Tuesday as part of Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the right-wing channel. “Do you believe that Dominion was engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election?” Murdoch was asked by Dominion lawyers. The hundreds of pages of new documents that came out Tuesday include previously unreleased excerpts from key depositions, including Murdoch, and are part of Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News. Fox News has not only vigorously denied the claims, it has insisted it is “proud” of its 2020 election coverage.

☆ Rupert Murdoch testified that Fox News hosts lied about the 2020 election. Here's why it wasn't a misstep.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rupert Murdoch admitted Fox News hosts endorsed falsehoods about the 2020 election. Murdoch chairs Fox Corporation, which argues it isn't responsible for claims made on subsidiary Fox News. Here was the chair of Fox Corporation, a 91-year-old mogul atop a conservative media empire, admitting to lies that damaged democracy. When asked by Dominion's lawyers in a January deposition whether he thought Fox hosts were truthful about the election, Murdoch was candid. Fox Corporation also manages subsidiaries like Fox Sports, a large number of local TV stations, TMZ, Tubi, and a blockchain company.

☆ Rupert Murdoch could face FEC fines if he tipped off Jared Kushner about Biden's presidential ads before they aired
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Madison Hall | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Dominion claims Rupert Murdoch shared info about Biden ads with Trump's campaign in 2020. "During Trump's campaign, Rupert provided Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, with Fox confidential information about Biden's ads, along with debate strategy (providing Kushner a preview of Biden's ads before they were public)," Dominion's lawyers alleged in the filing. "If the allegations are true, this is precisely what Murdoch provided to the Trump campaign," he said. After Trump lost, Murdoch shifted attention to two runoff elections in Georgia for US Senate seats. "My friend Jared Kushner called me saying, 'This is terrible,' Murdoch wrote.

☆ Fair and Balanced? Murdoch’s private messages show Fox News was instructed to help Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But a deposition and private messages made public in recent weeks has exposed that even Rupert Murdoch doesn’t treat Fox News like an actual news organization. But at Fox News, that’s not the case. It’s just striking to hear Fox leadership like Ryan talk openly behind the scenes about what the company is at its core. Fox News has accused Dominion of having “cherry picked” statements to unfairly malign the network. But it’s hard to see how, under any circumstances, these instructions to a supposed network news chief would be appropriate.

☆ Paul Ryan didn't hesitate to blame Tucker Carlson when asked about the 'toxic sludge' and 'disinformation' on Fox News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Paul Ryan blamed Tucker Carlson for pushing toxic and racist content on Fox News. Ryan was asked why he, as a Fox board member, did not stand up to people spreading disinformation. During the interview, Sykes asked Ryan why he did not stand up to people at Fox News who pushed "toxic sludge, racism, disinformation, and attacks on democracy." "Donald Trump, sitting down at Mar-a-Lago, is convinced that you are pulling the strings at Fox News," Sykes said. Representatives for Ryan and Carlson at Fox did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Fox News election fraud revelations could take down the network’s embattled chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Who will Rupert Murdoch exile from the Fox kingdom? The stunning levels of misconduct exposed in recent weeks raise questions about the future of Suzanne Scott, the embattled chief executive of Fox News. “They’re leading a trail of crumbs that lead back to her office,” added David Folkenflik, the NPR media correspondent and Murdoch biographer. In each case, Murdoch made the decision to sever ties with top personnel. “They should be reprimanded, maybe got rid of.”As Folkenflik noted, “If you’re Rupert, you can’t fire Rupert.

☆ Paul Ryan grilled for remaining on Fox board of directors amid election fraud revelations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Former House Speaker Paul Ryan was grilled Tuesday over his decision to remain on the board of directors of Fox News’ parent company after damning court documents showed that the right-wing network knowingly peddled election lies to its audience. I have a responsibility to offer my opinion and perspective and I do that, but I don’t go on TV and do it, right. So I offer my perspective, my opinion, often,” Ryan replied. Instead, Ryan said, “I want to see the conservative movement get through this moment. And I think Fox is a big part of the constellation of the conservative movement.”“Is it the solution or the problem?” Sykes asked.

☆ Fox executives should be fired for ‘proven misconduct’ exposed in Dominion lawsuit, renowned Yale professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —The Fox Corporation board has a huge mess on its hands — and it needs to work quickly to clean it up. That’s according to Jeffrey A Sonnenfeld, the renowned professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management. The former House speaker said that Fox News should “move on from Donald Trump” and “stop spouting election lies.”But Sonnenfeld said Ryan’s actions were not enough. In fact, he said Ryan’s “quiet dissent” was “cowardly, ineffective, and immoral,” and pointed out that board members have certain responsibilities under corporate governance law in Delaware, where Fox is incorporated. Fox News has previously said it was “proud” of its 2020 election coverage, which is a statement that only grows more remarkable by the day.

☆ Rupert Murdoch admits Fox News hosts 'endorsed' election lies and wanted to make Trump a 'non-person' after January 6 riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rupert Murdoch conceded in a deposition that Fox News hosts pushed falsehoods about the 2020 election. Fox Corporation, which Murdoch leads, argues it isn't liable in Dominion's lawsuit anyway. At the same time, Murdoch denied that Fox Corporation itself endorsed these false claims. Dominion sued Fox News Network along with its parent company, Fox Corporation, in March 2021, also including Bartiromo, Pirro, and Dobbs as defendants. According to the filing, Rupert Murdoch said in his deposition he took care to strike a tone that wouldn't antagonize Trump.

☆ Fox faces an ‘existential threat’ from its multi-billion-dollar defamation cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch said under oath that he made a business decision when allowing a conspiracy theorist to promote election lies on Fox News. The network faces two separate defamation lawsuits from voting technology companies that collectively seek $4.3 billion in damages. Cases against FoxDominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News and Fox Corporation for $1.6 billion, accusing the network of spreading false claims that its technology enabled election fraud. A separate, similar case brought by voting technology firm Smartmatic is seeking $2.7 billion in damages. It also illustrated instances of Fox actively pushing back on fact-checks that undermined the election lies being peddled by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

☆ Rupert Murdoch said Sean Hannity was 'privately disgusted' by Donald Trump for weeks after the election: court filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rupert Murdoch said in a January 2021 email to Paul Ryan that Sean Hannity was "disgusted" by Trump. Murdoch added in his email that Hannity was "scared to lose viewers" despite his distaste for Trump. Murdoch said to Ryan that Hannity also needed a "wake-up call" after the Capitol riot. Segments of emails Murdoch sent in 2021 were published on Monday in a court filing from Dominion Voting Systems. Wake-up call for Hannity, who has been privately disgusted by Trump for weeks, but was scared to lose viewers," Rupert Murdoch wrote in response to Ryan.

☆ The 10 biggest revelations from Dominion’s explosive Fox News legal filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Murdoch rejected that Fox News, as an entity, endorsed former President Donald Trump’s election lies. They endorsed,” Murdoch said, according to the filing, when asked about the hosts’ promotion of false claims about the election. ► Behind the scenes, Paul Ryan repeatedly warned the Murdochs to stop allowing the spread of election lies. “Maybe best to let Bill go right away,” which would “be a big message with Trump people” the filing said. These documents reveal that Fox News executives and hosts knew the truth and yet they peddled election lies to the audience.

☆ Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that Fox News hosts endorsed false stolen election claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation, acknowledged in a deposition taken by Dominion Voting Systems that some Fox News hosts endorsed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Murdoch’s remarks were made public in a legal filing as part of Dominion’s $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News. In his deposition, Murdoch rejected that the right-wing talk network as an entity endorsed former President Donald Trump’s election lies. “Some of our commentators were endorsing it,,” Murdoch said, according to the filing, when asked about the talk hosts’ on-air positions about the election. Top legal experts told CNN after last week’s filing that Dominion’s legal position appeared strong.

☆ Top Fox News anchor says the company has banned coverage of the Dominion lawsuit that revealed how Tucker Carlson and other Fox stars privately dismissed election conspiracy theories while peddling th
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Internal messages show how Fox News anchors privately mocked 2020 election conspiracy theories. Dominion, an elections technology company, filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News in March 2021, accusing the media company of spreading conspiracy theories that claimed Dominion helped rig the 2020 election results. "It's dangerously insane these conspiracy theories," Fox reporter Lucas Tomlinson said to Bret Baier, host of Special Report. A search through FoxNews.com turns up zero recent stories regarding the Dominion lawsuit. "That is an actual threat to democracy and it points up the core problem which is we're not really very serious about democracy if we're using electronic voting machines," Carlson said.

In a text message with his producer, Alex Pfeiffer, Mr. Carlson appeared livid that viewers were turning against the network. On Nov. 7, 2020, Mr. Carlson told Mr. Pfeiffer that claims about manipulated software were “absurd.” Mr. Pfeiffer replied later that there was not enough evidence of fraud to swing the election. A video of Carlson from “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Said publicly on Nov. 19, 2020 Carlson: “We did not dismiss any of it. It aired on the programs hosted by Mr. Dobbs, Ms. Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. On Feb. 5, 2021, one day after Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox, Fox Business canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” At the time, Fox said it regularly reviewed its lineup.

☆ Rupert Murdoch suggested Fox News hosts Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham go on air and say Joe Biden had won 2020 election, court filing says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rupert Murdoch suggested three Fox News hosts could go on air and declare Biden the winner in 2020. The lengthy filing makes revelations about the inner workings of the Fox News network following the 2020 election. Murdoch privately described the election fraud claims as "damaging" and "crazy," according to the filing. However, the relationship fractured over the years, and in 2020 Fox News was the first network to call Arizona in favor of Biden, infuriating Trump. Fox News has previously denied the charges and said that it reported fairly on the election and its aftermath.

☆ Analysis: Fox News has been exposed as a dishonest organization terrified of its own audience
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Trump was enraged that Fox News was the first network to call the critical swing state of Arizona for now-president Joe Biden. In the days and weeks after the presidential contest had been called, Fox News’ audience listened to Trump and rebelled against the channel. Behind the scenes, Fox News executives and hosts were in panic. Did I mention Cavuto?”The fear that Fox News’ audience would abandon it for good also appeared to drive programming decisions. When Lindell appeared on Newsmax and criticized Fox News, executives at Fox News “exchanged worried emails about alienating him,” the legal filing said.

☆ Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6 billion. Internal documents show the tech company is only worth $80 million at most, Fox says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6 billion, alleging it helped spread election conspiracy theories. "Even under the most optimistic projections," they wrote, Staple Street did not forecast Dominion would be worth "anywhere near $1.6 billion." "At no time did Staple Street so much as hint to its investors, auditors, or anyone else that Dominion could be worth $1.6 billion," they wrote. "Yet, when Dominion decided to file a lawsuit to punish FNN for reporting the President's allegations about Dominion, Dominion chose to claim that Dominion's value was 20 times their highest estimate." The $1.6 billion lawsuit, Fox News argues, will have a chilling effect on media outlets everywhere.

☆ Fox News hosts and executives privately mocked pro-Trump election conspiracy theories after he lost, internal texts show
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

It enrages me," Tucker Carlson wrote in a text message to his producer Alex Pfeiffer. "Not a single Fox witness testified that they believe any of the allegations about Dominion are true," Dominion lawyers wrote. Imho they need to address but wtf do I know," Hannity wrote in a text message, referring to Newsmax. That email, Dominion's lawyers write, came from an unnamed author who claimed to be a beheaded ghost who talks to the wind. President Trump not only was the sitting President, he was the key figure that day," Dominion's lawyers wrote.

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