In defending itself against a massive defamation lawsuit over how it covered false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election, Fox News is relying on a nearly 60-year-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling that makes it difficult to successfully sue media organizations for libel.
Fox News is on an unlikely collision course with two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination over the rights of journalists.
Eye-catching evidence has emerged from court filings in recent weeks revealing a split screen between what Fox was portraying to its viewers about the false claims of election fraud and what hosts and executives were saying about them behind the scenes. "Sydney Powell is lying," Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in a text to a producer, referencing one of the attorneys pushing the claims for Trump.
In one example of how the law was applied, editors at the Times acknowledged last year that an editorial mistakenly linked former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's rhetoric to an Arizona mass shooting. Palin lost her libel suit because she couldn't prove the newspaper erred without concern for the truth.
"My wish is that the parties would settle and this case would go away," said Jane Kirtley, director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and the Law at the University of Minnesota. "I don't see any good coming out of it."Dominion says Fox was, in effect, torn between the truth that Joe Biden legitimately won the race and pleasing viewers who wanted to believe Trump's lies.
Dominion's lawyers say Fox is arguing that it has no legal responsibility for broadcasting even the most horrible allegations, knowing they are false, as long as they are deemed newsworthy. George Freeman, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center, said Fox should cite a lesser-known "neutral reportage" standard that dates back to a court case from the 1970s. It holds that news organizations should not be discouraged from reporting something newsworthy even if there are serious doubts about the truth, as long as that information comes from responsible and prominent sources.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Weekly News Quiz: Why do all (metaphorical) roads seem to lead to China this week?Trudeau on defensive over China, Harry and Meghan evicted, the King\u0027s problematic tea party and a vandalized mammoth
Read more »
Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan actor, dead at 61 | CBC NewsTom Sizemore died in his sleep Friday at a hospital in Burbank, Calif., after suffering a brain aneurysm on Feb. 18. Sizemore became a star with acclaimed appearances in Natural Born Killers and the cult-classic crime thriller Heat.
Read more »
ANALYSIS | Why the Bank of Canada is expected to (finally) leave interest rates unchanged | CBC NewsThe Bank of Canada will announce its latest interest rate policy on Wednesday. The central bank appears poised to make good on its promise to pause rate increases.
Read more »