Scorn for Fox

In a deposition as part of the defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News, Sean Hannity was asked about the claims of voter fraud during the 2020 election.

I did not believe it for one second.

Given how much damage those lies have done to trust in elections, it's infuriating and unconscionable that they would promote actual fake news. Will anyone be held accountable? 

Update (February 26, 2023):  A news organization should report the truth to the best of their ability, but people at Fox News understood their audience didn't want to hear the truth. And so Fox perpetuated election lies even though they knew the truth.

Amanda Marcotte reports on documents produced by Dominion Voting Systems.

"Sidney Powell is lying," host Tucker Carlson texted to fellow host Laura Ingraham on Nov. 18, 2020. Powell was a regular Fox News guest who was a primary source of Big Lie allegations.

"Sidney is a complete nut," Ingraham texted back. "Ditto Rudy."

Marcotte notes the Fox defense is that "we hear them" and are showing "respect" for their audience.

To most people, the idea that you "respect" someone by lying to them is nonsensical. But it makes sense if you realize they aren't trying to deceive their audiences, not really. It's more that they are collaborating with their viewers to prop up the narrative the viewers prefer. Since viewers don't care about the truth, but only about winning at any cost, this is a matter of Fox News respecting their wishes.

Update (March 13, 2023):  Katie Phang thinks Fox News is going down.

Fox is now trapped in an ever-worsening spiral of lies of its own creation. ... And the result just might be a financial death penalty for the network.

[P]eople at Fox News allegedly knew the channel was repeatedly peddling lies. But it didn’t care. Because, according to the lawsuit, profits were more important than the truth.

Update (March 30, 2023):  In an email released as part of the defamation suit, Fox CEO Suzanne Scott wants reporter Eric Shawn to stop fact-checking Dear Leader's lies about the 2020 election.

[T]here is a lack of understanding what is happening in these shows. The audience is furious and we are just feeding them material. [This is] bad for business.

Update (April 16, 2023):  The lawsuit is going to trial. Rae Hodge notes:

In the courtroom, the bar Dominion must clear is high. But all those mocking remarks captured in the text and email evidence have led some observers to wonder whether Fox News can prove it didn't act with actual malice.

If Fox News wins this case, it will no doubt be emboldened to repeat its borderline-reckless behavior. If Dominion wins, we need not expect some scary rollback of First Amendment rights. There's at least a chance that this case could begin a revival of the once-treasured fairness doctrine, on the principle that a "news" badge only protects those who wear it honestly.

Update (April 18, 2023):  It's disappointing to learn Dominion settled with Fox just before the opening statements of the trial for $787.5 million--a bit less than half of what they originally asked for. Fortunately, Smartmatic has also filed a lawsuit. 

Dominion's litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox's disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest.

Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.