Fox News is facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems for spreading lies about the company on their channel’s shows.
Newly released internal text messages between Fox hosts and producers showed that the network’s top executives knew that the election fraud claims were false, but chose to air them anyways to pander to viewers and strengthen its falling ratings.
Now Fox is facing the consequences.
Fox’s reputation is on the decline, and they are losing friends left and right. Though Fox and its founder Rupert Murdoch previously had a stronghold over the Republican party and its perception of news, losing the Dominion case could result in a complete discrediting of their validity as a news organization, even for right-wing viewers.
A recent poll found that 21 percent of Fox News viewers over 18 trust Fox News less after the revelations. Their formerly loyal audience may now turn to other sources such as Newsmax and One America News, now that hosts have been shown to be contradicting their own content.
It’s not only viewers that Fox is losing. Several law firms like Kehoe are contemplating suing the Fox Corporation directors for breaking “their fiduciary duties to Fox and its shareholders,” and the channel may be at risk of losing its contracts with cable companies that have previously been paying them large sums for their participation.
As the case moves forward, Fox is at risk of being sued by many other organizations that feel jilted by the network’s dishonest and conspiratorial coverage. A potential loss in the lawsuit is dangerous for the network’s pursuit of power and influence, and as more evidence continues to appear, Fox will continue losing its audience’s trust and the faith of the conservative groups that have long supported it.