• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. US & Canada
  4. Murdoch admits Fox News hosts 'endorsed' idea Biden stole election
US & Canada

Murdoch admits Fox News hosts 'endorsed' idea Biden stole election

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 28 Feb 09:08

Rupert Murdoch, Fox News' owner, acknowledges that some of the network's hosts endorsed claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

  • Rupert Murdoch introduces Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the Herman Kahn Award Gala, Oct. 30, 2019, in New York. (AP)
    Rupert Murdoch introduces Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the Herman Kahn Award Gala, Oct. 30, 2019, in New York. (AP)

Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch admitted that some Fox News hosts declared public approval of former US President Donald Trump and his allies' false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that he didn’t intervene to prevent them from promoting the allegations, according to excerpts of a deposition revealed Monday.

Dominion Voting Systems Corporation has filed a defamation lawsuit against the cable news organization based on the allegations and the way the firm handled them. 

The recently uncovered documents include excerpts from a deposition in which Murdoch was asked about whether he knew that Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, Sean Hannity, and Maria Bartiromo, commentators from the network, at times endorsed the false election allegations.

“Yes. They endorsed,” was Murdoch's answer.

When the network's ratings plunged after calling Arizona for Joe Biden on election night, infuriating Trump and his fans, the Murdoch deposition is the most recent document filed in the defamation case to illustrate worries at the top-rated network over how it was treating Trump's claims.

Read: Rupert Murdoch withdraws endorsing Trump 2024 and chooses DeSantis

A previous filing showed a disconnection between Fox News' stolen election story and skepticism about the claims raised by its stars behind the scenes. On November 16, 2020, the network host Tucker Carlson said, referring to one of Trump’s attorneys, "Sidney Powell is lying" about having proof of election fraud.

The Dominion case is the most recent illustration of how people who disseminated misleading information regarding the 2020 election were aware that there was no supporting documentation. Many of Trump's senior aides cautioned him repeatedly that the accusations he was making about fraud were bogus; yet, Trump did not stop. He kept repeating them, according to the now-disbanded House committee looking into the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. 

According to a court document from Dominion, Murdoch demanded that Dobbs be fired because he was an "extremist" in September 2020, just weeks before the election.

A deposition excerpt revealed that Murdoch also said he thought it was “really bad” for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to be counseling Trump because Giuliani’s judgment was "bad" and he was an "extreme partisan".

When Murdoch was asked whether he could have demanded not to put Powell and Giuliani on air, he replied, “I could have. But I didn’t."

Read: Influence of Fox hosts on Trump's White House: WP

  • United States
  • Fox News
  • 2020 election
  • Dominion
  • Rupert Murdoch
  • Joe Biden
  • Donald Trump

Trending Now

All
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the South Carolina Statehouse, January 28, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina (AP Photo)

Trump campaign paid to prove 2020 fraud, kept findings secret: WashPo

Most Read

US dollar may lose status as global reserve currency: Yellen

US dollar may lose status as global reserve currency: Yellen

  • US & Canada
  • 22 Mar
Rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism

Peace rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism

  • US & Canada
  • 18 Mar
Iran–Saudi Deal: Not a Diplomatic Normalisation, But An ‘Architecture’

Iran–Saudi Deal: Not a Diplomatic Normalisation, But An ‘Architecture’

  • Analysis
  • 19 Mar
Poland

Poland may end up 'joining' Ukraine war: Polish Ambassador to France

  • Europe
  • 20 Mar

Read this

All
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a crater after an explosion hit a building, in Deir Ezzor, Syria, March 8, 2023 (AP)
MENA

Iranian advisor reveals how US shelled Deir Ezzor, Syria

  • Today
Crewmen enter Bradley fighting vehicles at a US military base at an undisclosed location in Northeastern Syria, on November 11, 2019 (AP)
MENA

US occupation bases under fire in Syria for second day in a row

  • 24 Mar
Muslims offer prayer on the first Friday of Ramadan outside the Dome of Rock Mosque at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Al-Qud's Old City, Friday, March 24, 2023 (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestine

Despite IOF restrictions, 100,000 Palestinians attend Al-Aqsa prayers

  • 24 Mar
TikTok ban in US; News worth $431bn for Alphabet, Meta and Snap
US & Canada

TikTok ban in US; News worth $431bn for Alphabet, Meta and Snap

  • 24 Mar
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS