A $1.6 billion defamation suit against foxnews by Domain Voting Systems continues its way through the courts, spewing tidbits of information into the chaotic and ethically tense inner workings of Fox.
That includes everything from foxnews host Tucker Carlson read and expand the works of a Holocaust denier to the wider network systematically embracing the lies who have damaged American democracy for the sake of profit.
“It’s pretty clear that motivation is the money-based machine on the opinion side that drives all of your business decisions, that drives a lot of your programming decisions,” said an anonymous Fox reporter. he told The Daily Beast last week.
Another added: “I think no normal person could read this and see Fox as a news organization right now.”
Amid the hubbub, here are five things from the presentations you might have missed:
Tucker Carlson “always improvises” falsehoods on his show, according to his producer, who finds it hilarious.
“Haha, Tucker is always improvising incorrect information,” wrote Alex Pfeiffer, producer of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” at the time, in a 2021 exchange with another redacted recipient.
Don’t forget that last week, Carlson opened his show with a lecture on liars ― having spent the last few years lying about the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Liars behave differently,” he declared, without an ounce of self-awareness. “Liars are touchy, sometimes to the point of hysteria. They are hiding something. That is the point of lying. And they’re worried you’ll find out what it is. Liars are fragile because over time, lying makes you weak and fearful.
Rupert Murdoch has no qualms about putting his thumb in the balance in favor of Republican candidates and causes.
Through Dominion presentations, we have learned that, among other thingsthe president of Fox Corporation:
- Confidential Information Shared with Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, about the Joe Biden campaign because “(Kushner) is a friend of mine”;
- He instructed Fox executives to have Fox News host Sean Hannity “say some support” about Sen. Lindsay Graham in 2020 because “we can’t lose the Senate if we can”;
- He told Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott to “help in any way we can” to influence the US Senate race in Georgia for Republican candidates in 2020.
Tucker Carlson reads and expands on the work of white nationalists.
Carlson sent a text message on November 17, 2020 to a redacted recipient in which shared a link to a column by David Cole, a white nationalist who denies the Holocaust. The column, published on a website known for hosting white supremacist writers, argued that Republicans should do more to demonize immigrants and accuse them of demeaning America.
“That’s a smart piece,” the unidentified person replied.
Erik McGregor via Getty Images
Fox executives and primetime opinion talent loathe the network’s news arm.
Numerous exchanges point to a massive internal schism between Fox’s news and opinion divisions, with the network’s top talent seeking to silence reports that don’t reinforce their own false narratives (even those they know to be false, such as the lie that the 2020 elections were equipped).
After Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich verified a Trump claim in 2020, for example, Hannity complained internally to top executives.
“Sean sent me a text,” says an email from head of corporate communications Irena Briganti to Fox. “He is refraining from responding, but he is not happy about this and doesn’t understand how someone in the news allows this to happen. . He has a lot of courage to do this ”.
In a different exchange between hosts Laura Ingraham, Hannity, and Carlson, Carlson said he believed Heinrich’s reporting was a dismissable offense.
“Please fire (Heinrich),” he texted Ingraham and Hannity, according to the documents. “Seriously… what the hell? In fact, I’m shocked… It has to stop immediately, like tonight. You are doing a lot of harm to the company. The stock price has gone down. It is not a joke.”
In a later talkthe trio then trashed the news side of the network.
“Hate hate hate all three of us,” Hannity wrote.
“Fine,” Ingraham replied. “I don’t want to be loved by them.”
They are pathetic. That’s why they’re so angry,” Carlson said.
Hannity later described them as “all Shep Smiths”, referring to Shepard Smith, a former Fox News anchor who left the network in 2019. After his departure, Smith publicly chided Fox for spreading lies that hurt the nation.
Fox eliminated the Democrats after Trump lost.
Following instructions from Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who also runs the network, the Fox News CEO effectively banned certain Democrats from appearing “in the news hours” for two months after the 2020 election.
“The public doesn’t want to see too much of Mayor Pete and (Sen. Chris) Coons, etc. in news hours,” Scott told Fox News President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace in an email on Nov. 8, 2020. “I need to be careful with bookings for the next 2 months, especially during news hours. news”.
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