Has Fox flipped?
On Thursday, a court filing from top executives and leading hosts at Fox News dismissing former President Trump’s voter fraud allegations following the 2020 presidential election was made public. In the filing, it was made clear that there were also worries about how the then-President’s claims might have upset the network’s audience.
Leading hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham all referred to the voter fraud allegations as “insane” in text communications. At the same time the network, leadership considered how refuting these claims might affect the standing of the network with its conservative viewership. Correspondence and testimony from hosts and execs at Fox News was made public as it is part of the ongoing defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion Voting systems are looking for $1.6 billion in damages from Fox News and its parent company, claiming that the network was aware of the false narrative they were broadcasting. Fox in their own statements and legal filings has maintained that Trump’s allegations regarding voter fraud were considered newsworthy and proceeded to use the First Amendment as grounds to have the defamation case dismissed.
In a statement, the network said that at the core this case is not about the confusion Dominion has created, but rather it is about “freedom of the press and freedom of speech.”
Parts of the correspondence and testimony made available to the public were redacted. However, the information provides more insight into the cable news channel’s attempts to cover the election fraud allegations.