Fox News has been making headlines recently and it’s not for their usual political commentary. Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News has revealed the frustration and anger felt by some of Fox News’ own staffers. The lawsuit seeks $1.6 billion in damages after Fox News aired false claims about Dominion’s role in the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuit has been a topic of discussion for weeks, and it has put Fox News in the hot seat.
Fox News has been involved in a long battle with Dominion Voting Systems, a company that provides voting machines and software for elections. After the 2020 presidential election, Fox News aired reports that falsely claimed Dominion Voting Systems’ software had flipped votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Dominion Voting Systems, which provides voting machines in 28 states, filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News in March 2021.
Since then, the lawsuit has revealed Fox News’ staff’s misgivings regarding the network’s approach to coverage of the 2020 election. According to The New York Times, some Fox News staffers reported frustration with the network’s coverage of Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuits. They noted that Fox News’ amplified the false claims that Dominion’s voting machines were used to rig the election in favor of Joe Biden. While some Fox News contributors did offer support to Dominion, the network as a whole cast doubt on Dominion’s software and the validity of the 2020 presidential election.
One senior Fox News employee told The New York Times that the network’s coverage of Dominion’s lawsuit could be seen as evidence of the network’s bias against the election results. many insiders in the network believed that Fox News was targeting Dominion Voting Systems out of anger and disillusionment over the Democrats winning the presidency. These insiders believe that Fox News’ supposed bias has severely damaged their network’s reputation and that its viewers have lost trust in them.
Another Fox News contributor stated her disagreements with the narrative espoused on Fox News. Shannon Bream, who hosts Fox News at Night, stated that the coverage of Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuits was problematic. She added that the network needs to have a ‘more rigorous vetting and caution’.
Fox News’ reports on Dominion Voting Systems have been highly controversial. The network has been accused of parroting false claims about Dominion and fanning the flames of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election. The network’s former president, Donald Trump, made regular appearances on Fox News during his presidency and often claimed, without evidence, that his election loss was due to mass voter fraud. The influence of Trump and his loyal supporters on the network makes it difficult for Fox News employees who don’t agree with this narrative.
Fox News hosts, such as Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo, were named as co-defendants in Dominion’s lawsuit due to their perpetuation of the false Dominion Voting Systems claims. Bartiromo offered an apology, stating “We would like to clarify that they [Dominion] are not known to have systematically flipped votes for Joe Biden in Michigan, Pennsylvania or any other state”. Fox News also aired a fact-check segment where, through a spokesman, Dominion criticized the network, saying that “The relentless disinformation campaign waged against us has caused enormous harm to our company and our employees, as well as our democracy”.
The lawsuit has been a blow to Fox News’ reputation and has raised questions about journalistic integrity at the network. The network’s coverage of Dominion reveals that Fox News’ editorial standards were pushed aside in favor of a certain political ideology. This has left many of their own employees fed up and frustrated.
In conclusion, the fallout from Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News continues. The revelations about the network’s political bias and its failure to hold its contributors to ethical journalistic standards have put the network’s reputation on the line. Though Fox News has apologized for their reporting of Dominion, will the damage be enough to drive these former employees to look for work elsewhere? Only time will tell.