Current:Home > InvestNYC pension funds and state of Oregon sue Fox over 2020 election coverage -WealthEngine
NYC pension funds and state of Oregon sue Fox over 2020 election coverage
View
Date:2025-04-17 02:13:17
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s pension funds and the state of Oregon sued Fox Corporation on Tuesday, alleging the company harmed investors by allowing Fox News to broadcast falsehoods about the 2020 election that exposed the network to defamation lawsuits.
The case, filed in Delaware, accuses the company of inviting defamation lawsuits through its amplification of conspiracy theories about the election, including a case Fox News agreed to settle for nearly $800 million with the voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems.
“Fox’s board of directors has blatantly disregarded the need for journalistic standards and failed to put safeguards in place despite having a business model that invites defamation litigation,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who manages the city’s pension funds.
A spokesperson for Fox Corporation declined to comment.
New York City’s pension funds are long-term shareholders of Fox Corporation, with shares valued at $28.1 million as of the end of July. Oregon holds shares in the company worth approximately $5.2 million.
The complaint, which does not specify what damages it seeks, alleges Fox’s board decided to broadcast former President Donald Trump’s election falsehoods in order to satisfy his supporters, while knowing that doing so would open the company to defamation lawsuits.
“Defendants chose to invite robust defamation claims, with potentially huge financial liability and potentially larger business repercussions, rather than disappoint viewers of Fox News,” the case reads.
In April, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to avert a trial in the voting machine company’s lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 presidential election.
Dominion had argued that the news outlet owned by Fox Corp. damaged Dominion’s reputation by peddling phony conspiracy theories that claimed its equipment switched votes from Trump to Democrat Joe Biden.
Lachlan Murdoch, chair and CEO of Fox Corp., said when the settlement was announced that it avoids “the acrimony of a divisive trial and a multiyear appeal process, a decision clearly in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.”
Another voting machine company, Smartmatic USA, also sued Fox News over Fox News’ bogus election claims.
In a statement, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said the Fox Corporation breached its fiduciary duties by disregarding the legal risks of peddling falsehoods.
“The directors’ choices exposed themselves and the company to liability and exposed their shareholders to significant risks,” she said. “That is the crux of our lawsuit, and we look forward to making our case in court.”
veryGood! (524)
Related
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Homes feared destroyed by wildfire burning out of control on Australian city of Perth’s fringe
- Taylor Swift’s new romance, debt-erasing gifts and the eclipse are among most joyous moments of 2023
- Teen who planned Ohio synagogue attack must write book report on WWII hero who saved Jews
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- The Masked Singer Season 10 Finale Reveals Winner and Unveils a Pretty Little Finalist
- 'You see where that got them': Ja Morant turned boos into silence in return to Grizzlies
- Honda recalls 106,000 CR-V hybrid SUVs because of potential fire risk. Here's what to know.
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Derwin's disco: Chargers star gets groovy at dance party for older adults
Ranking
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Australia to send military personnel to help protect Red Sea shipping but no warship
- Oregon's drug decriminalization law faces test amid fentanyl crisis
- ICHCOIN Trading Center: Cryptocurrency value stabilizer
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Former NBA player allegedly admitted to fatally strangling woman in Las Vegas, court documents show
- Singer David Daniels no longer in singers’ union following guilty plea to sexual assault
- US senator’s son faces new charges in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff’s deputy
Recommendation
Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
A deal on US border policy is closer than it seems. Here’s how it is shaping up and what’s at stake
Here's how SNAP eligibility and benefits are different in 2024
Texas begins flying migrants from US-Mexico border to Chicago, with 1st plane carrying 120 people
North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
Lionel Messi's 2024 schedule: Inter Miami in MLS, Argentina in Copa America
Zac Efron Explains Why He Wore Sunglasses Indoors on Live TV
India’s opposition lawmakers protest their suspension from Parliament by the government