PatriotNews , 2023-03-30 15:31:27
Fox News Chief Executive Objected to Fact-Checking False Election Claims
In December 2020, a leaked email from Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott showed her objection to a fact-check by one of the network’s reporters. The email, obtained by Dominion Voting Systems as part of their $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, revealed Scott’s fury at the discrepancy between the reporter’s facts and President Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
In the email, Scott wrote to Fox executive Meade Cooper: “This has to stop now. This is bad business and there clearly is a lack of understanding [sic] what is happening in these shows. The audience is furious and we are just feeding them material. Bad for business.”
A Fox News spokesperson said Scott’s objection was not about the fact-checking, but rather about one host calling out another. Scott also asked other Fox employees to alert her if the network booked Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, or Mike Lindell, a serial promoter of election misinformation, saying: “They would both get ratings.”
Fox News Executives Express Concern Over False Claims
In the same tranche of internal communications, Fox News executives expressed concern over false claims being broadcast on the network. On 19 November, Scott complained about a different fact-check on air, saying: “I can’t keep defending these reporters who don’t understand our viewers and how to handle stories. The audience feels like we crapped on [sic] and we have damaged their trust and belief in us.”
The reporter in question, Kristin Fisher, later said she felt she was punished for telling the truth, according to NPR. Fox News also highlighted a key 13 November 2020 internal fact-check from Fox’s “brain room” that debunked false claims about Dominion.
Among the emails revealed were those from Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo, two well-known Fox News hosts who aired false Dominion claims. In one email, Bartiromo appeared to be aware that Sidney Powell, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers, would come on her show the next day to make specious claims about Dominion software switching votes.
In notes to herself, Bartiromo noted that Powell was being shut out from meetings with Jared Kushner at the White House because he did not want to hear about “conspiracy theories”. Fox executives also had internal concern about statements being made by Pirro. Jerry Andrews, a Fox executive, wrote in an email: “The brain room is going through this now. Jeanine dictated it to Tim. It’s rife with conspiracies and BS and yet another example of why this woman should never be on live television.”
Fox News says its viewers would not have understood its broadcasts about Dominion to be statements of fact, and that executives who expressed concerns about the accuracy of its statements about Dominion were not directly involved in determining what went into each show.