Topline
Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch will be deposed next week in response to a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems filed against Fox News over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election, according to the Washington Post, as Dominion accuses Fox of encouraging baseless conspiracy theories about voting machine fraud.
Key Facts
Murdoch, 91, is scheduled to answer questions by videoconference the mornings of December 13 and 14, according to the Post, citing a filing in Delaware’s Superior Court.
Dominion's lawsuit alleges Fox News—whose parent company is the Fox Corporation, which Murdoch chairs—pushed defamatory statements on the news network in line with hard-right conspiracy theories suggesting Dominion voting machines were somehow rigged to hurt former President Donald Trump in the election.
Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corporation and Rupert Murdoch's son, was set to answer questions in a separate deposition Monday.
The lawsuit claims the Murdochs "exerted direct control over Fox News’ programming decisions," and a judge earlier this year noted Dominion's arguments show “a reasonable inference that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch either knew Dominion had not manipulated the election or at least recklessly disregarded the truth" in a ruling letting the lawsuit move forward.
Neither Rupert nor Lachlan Murdoch are named as defendants.
A Fox Corporation spokesman said the company had “nothing further” to add in response to the report.
Key Background
Dominion filed the lawsuit in November 2021, blaming Fox and the Murdochs for lost profits due to the cable network’s allegedly defamatory statements. Similar lawsuits were filed against conservative news networks One America News and Newsmax, along with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, who worked on Trump's legal team in the wake of the election. The conspiracy theory that Dominion machines were rigged to hurt Trump and help President Joe Biden was one of the most popular fraud claims among Trump and his supporters, even though there was no evidence to back it up. The lawsuit specifically mentions fraud claims from anchors like Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo and Lou Dobbs—who has since left Fox—but said defamation came at the direction of top management, noting in the suit, “Ultimately, the buck stops with Fox.” Dominion Voting machines were used in 28 states during the 2020 election, but conspiracy theorists largely limited their fraud claims involving Dominion to a handful of close contests, like in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate that Rupert Murdoch and his family are worth $17.3 billion. The Murdochs also oversee the Wall Street Journal, Fox Sports and various tabloid publications popular in the English-speaking world.
Further Reading
Rupert Murdoch to be deposed in $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox (Washington Post)
Fox News Sued By Dominion Voting For Defamation Over Election Conspiracy (Forbes)
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