Fox News isn’t doing so hot these days. Back in April they had to fork over a fortune because they spread some 2020 election nonsense. They’re getting sued again, this time because Tucker Carlson repeatedly tarred a probably innocent man. But in a sense they haven’t been doing well for a long time. After all, they’ve spent years, decades spreading questionable — and sometimes flat-out incorrect — information. And some of the people who helped create what became the network regret what it’s become.
In a blog post, three former Fox executives — Ken Solomon, Bill Reyner, and Preston Padden — offered a lengthy mea culpa for helping turn Fox (which is to say the network that birthed The Simpsons, et al.) into a powerhouse in the ‘90s. After Fox blossomed into a worthy competitor of the “Big Three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC, that paved the way for Murdoch — who they once “greatly admired” — to launch what the three called a “disinformation machine.”
“In our opinion, the Fox News Channel has had many negative impacts on our society,” the three write. Perhaps the worst has been their perpetuating the “Big Lie” about 2020 election malfeasance, then “contributing to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that undermined our democracy.” They point out that many of the rioters have pled not guilty by saying they had “Foxitis,” which the ex-execs call “a disease caused by watching false news on Fox!”
They also torch Murdoch and company for how they handled the Dominion lawsuit:
In a 120 page Court Order, backed by extensive record evidence including voluminous emails from inside Fox, the Judge in the Dominion case found that Fox repeatedly presented false news. Fox did not appeal the decision but instead acknowledged it and paid nearly $800 million in damages to Dominion.
Solomon, Reyner, and Padden add that there are other Fox veterans who “share our resentment” about helping turn Fox into a brand they say has now been “ruined by false news.”
You can read the full post here, whose sentiments have become even more relevant now that the Murdochs are thinking about dumping the “loser” Meatball Ron DeSantis and trying to woo Donald Trump back.
(Via The Daily Beast)