Murdoch Acknowledges Hosts Endorsed False Election Claim

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox News, has conceded that certain hosts on his networks promoted President Trump's false claim that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent. "Some of our commentators were endorsing it," Murdoch said, CNBC reports. He provided the sworn testimony last month in a deposition, which was released Monday, for a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox that seeks $1.6 billion. "I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight," Murdoch said.

Dominion lawyers asked Murdoch directly about hosts Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs, and Maria Bartiromo, the filing shows. "They endorsed," he answered, per the New York Times. He said they were acting as commentators and rejected a suggestion that Fox News itself had supported false claims about the election results. "Not Fox," Murdoch said. "No. Not Fox." Dominion's suit says Fox knew there was no fraud but aired the claims anyway in a bid for high ratings. The network argues in a new filing Monday that it was merely covering news by relaying comments made by the president and his aides, per the Hill. In his deposition, Murdoch said he doubted the Trump claim all along. (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)