Rupert Murdoch states Fox News hosts backed false election fraud claims

• Rupert Murdoch denied that Fox supported any of Donald Trump’s bogus claims of widespread fraud.
• Fox News claims the hosts’ statements were taken out of context and disputes slander.
• A jury trial is scheduled to begin in April.

Rupert Murdoch, the wealthy owner of Fox News, has admitted that several of the network’s hosts supported bogus allegations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

But, he denied that Fox supported any of Donald Trump‘s bogus claims of widespread fraud following his election defeat.

Mr. Murdoch’s statements were exposed in a legal filing as part of a defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems, a ballot technology business. Fox News claims the hosts’ statements were taken out of context and disputes slander.

“Some of our commentators were endorsing it,” Murdoch testified in a formal deposition on Monday.

Asked about certain on-air claims that echoed Mr. Trump’s, he said: “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it, in hindsight.”

Mr. Murdoch expressed skepticism about the Republican former president’s claims of rampant voter fraud.

Dominion is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion), claiming that the conservative network spread false and malicious rumors about voter fraud that hurt its company.

Fox News has maintained that the comments are protected by the First Amendment right to free expression and that it was just reporting on Mr. Trump’s charges, not endorsing them.

Dominion’s complaint, according to Fox, “mischaracterizes the facts by cherry-picking soundbites, missing important context, and mischaracterizing the record.”

To prove defamation, Dominion’s lawyers would have to convincingly argue that Fox presented incorrect information while knowing it was false.

In Delaware, a jury trial is scheduled to begin in April.

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