Lachlan Murdoch Threatens to Sue Australian News Outlet Over Accusations That Fox News Bears Responsibility For Jan. 6 Riots
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Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch, the son of Fox News Founder Rupert Murdoch, has threatened to take legal action against Australian news website Crikey over an article that featured intense criticism of the pair, including claims that the Murdochs bear some responsibility for the January 6th Capitol riots.
Currently, Smartmatic and Dominion — two voting technology companies — have brought forth defamation lawsuits against Fox News, claiming that the Murdoch-owned news outlet intentionally spread misinformation about election fraud as it related to the companies’ voting machinery. The Murdochs may see trouble ahead, after former Attorney General Bill Barr has been subpoenaed to hand over any communication he had with the father and son duo prior to the January 6th Capitol riot.
“We are confident we will prevail as freedom of the press is foundational to our democracy and must be protected, in addition to the damages claims being outrageous, unsupported and not rooted in sound financial analysis, serving as nothing more than a flagrant attempt to deter our journalists from doing their jobs,” Fox News said in a statement about the lawsuits.
On the other hand, Lachlan Murdoch has reportedly distanced himself from supporting former President Donald Trump on a personal basis, while refraining from criticizing him publicly to avoid alienating Fox News viewers. If the audience of Fox News supports Trump, that is what Murdoch is going to give them because it is good for business. However, two other Murdoch-owned papers — the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post — seemingly have a different consumer base, as they have openly hit Trump amid the January 6th House select committee hearings.
Murdoch is seemingly cracking down on criticisms that he and his father bear some responsibility for what happened on January 6th, as he threatened to sue Crikey over an article published in June, that has since been removed from the website.
The article written by Bernard Keane compared the Murdoch family to former President Richard Nixon’s role in the Watergate scandal. Murdoch is demanding an apology for the claims that because of their control of Fox News, he and his father are to blame for the Capitol riots.
Murdoch has reportedly issued multiple legal letters to the website since June and although the article has been removed, lawyers are continuing negotiations over the matter.
This is not the first time that the Fox Corp. CEO has responded to Crikey with legal action, as they had a similar face-off last April that ended up costing the website $14,000 in legal fees.
