One of the largest stories in news media has been the unveiling of text messages between Fox News hosts and executives that reveal many at the network never believed the claims from former President Donald Trump that the 2020 election was stolen.
However, Fox News media reporter and host of Media Buzz Howard Kurtz has been silent on the issue. On Sunday, Kurtz revealed that was deliberate.
During his program, Kurtz said he had been asked by Fox News to not discuss the matter, due to the ongoing litigation between Dominion Voting Systems and the cable outlet.
“Some of you have been asking why I’m not covering the Dominion voting machines lawsuit involving Fox and the unproven claims of election fraud in 2020. It’s absolutely a fair question,” admitted Kurtz. “I believe I should be covering it, given it’s a major media story and my role here at Fox. But the company has decided that as part of the organization being sued, I can’t talk about it or write about it, as of now. I strongly disagree with that decision, but as an employee, I have to abide by it. And if that changes, I’ll let you know.”
Evidence compiled by Dominion shows that prominent Fox News hosts like Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham privately mocked some of Trump’s confidants, and openly questioned the claims that the election was stolen. Carlson also specifically campaigned for Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich to be fired after she fact-checked a tweet from the then-President, saying “I’m actually shocked…It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.”
Carlson later sent another message saying he “just went crazy” to a Fox News executive over the action.
Dominion Voting Systems alleges Fox News knew that it was peddling falsehoods, but continued to do so out of fear that its audience would move to other conservative cable outlets — like Newsmax and OAN — if it did not parrot the accusations from the Trump campaign.
Legal experts surveyed by CNN’s Oliver Darcy claim the network is in “real jeopardy” in regard to the case with the voting machine company.
