A Fox Corporation shareholder on Tuesday sued Rupert Murdoch, his son Lachlan, and other directors on the company’s board over claims they allowed Fox News to spread lies about the 2020 presidential election. Plaintiff Robert Schwarz is arguing that the board violated its fiduciary duty to the company by deciding to “chase viewers by promoting the false stolen election claims” which in turn exposed Fox to “public ridicule and negatively impacted the credibility of Fox News as a media organization that is supposed to accurately report newsworthy events.” Schwarz also alleges that “Fox knew—from the board down—that Fox News was reporting false and dangerous misinformation” about the election but was “more concerned about short-term ratings and market share” than the long-term damage of the lies. The case comes in addition to ongoing defamation lawsuits filed by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic against Fox seeking a combined $4 billion in damages over accusations that the broadcaster suggested the companies’ voting machines were used in a conspiracy to rig the election against Donald Trump.
