Fox News executives and personalities knew that claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election were false but decided to broadcast the allegations anyway, a new court filing shows.
The 192-page document, filed by Dominion Voting Systems, is part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought against the right-wing US television network.
Dominion alleges some employees at Fox News peddled false claims that the company had changed votes in the 2020 election to hand the presidency to Joe Biden over Donald Trump.
“Sidney Powell is lying,” Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson texted his producer, referring to the former lawyer for Mr Trump who pressed claims that Dominion's voting machines were rigged.
“Sidney Powell is a bit nuts. Sorry but she is,” anchor Laura Ingraham texted to Carlson and fellow primetime anchor Sean Hannity on November 16, 2020.
In a text message exchange between Carlson and Ingraham two days later, he told her: “Sidney Powell is lying, by the way. I caught her. It's insane.”
Ingraham replied: “Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy,” referring to Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump's former lawyer who was also part of the campaign to spread election fraud conspiracy theories.
NewsCorp chief executive Rupert Murdoch, who characterised the false fraud claims as “really crazy stuff”, suggested that the network's three primetime stars should tell their viewers that Mr Biden had won the 2020 election, believing such action “would go a long way to stop the Trump myth that the election [was] stolen”.
Raj Shah, senior vice president of Fox News Corp, called the fraud claims “mind-blowingly nuts”.
Dominion alleges that Fox never retracted its claims about its voting machines.
“To this day, Fox has never retracted the false statements its broadcast about Dominion,” the filing says.
“Privately, Fox’s hosts and executives knew that Donald Trump lost the election and that he needed to concede.
“But Fox viewers heard a different story — repeatedly.”
Fox defended its coverage of the election, arguing it had a right to report on the fraud allegations raised by Mr Trump, who was president at the time, and his allies.
In its own filing, Fox said the former president's fraud claims were “undeniably newsworthy” and that the network's viewers knew they were being reported as allegations.
Fox also argued that the lawsuit filed by Dominion was an attack on the First Amendment, The Associated Press reported.
A five-week trial between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox is scheduled to begin on April 17.
Agencies contributed to this report
Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
