In the latest volley in the battle over disinformation in the presidential election, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation has been sued by an obscure tech company that has accused his cable networks of defamation and contributing to the fervor that led to the siege of the Capitol.
The suit pits Smartmatic, which provided election technology in one county, against Donald J. Trump’s longtime favorite news outlet and three Fox anchors, Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro, all ardent supporters of the former president. A trial could reveal how Mr. Trump’s media backers sought to cast doubt on an election that delivered a victory to Joseph R. Biden Jr. and a loss to an incumbent who refused to accept reality....
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Agree with Jennifer Rubin's sentiment "concentric circle of responsibility" theory:
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...We might think of accountability for the Jan. 6 assault as concentric circles. In the middle are the rioters themselves whose actions resulted in death, who assaulted police, who destroyed property, who terrorized lawmakers and staff and who sought to overthrow the election. They must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Just beyond the rioters were those who lit the match at the Ellipse and urged them to march on the Capitol. President Trump was the featured speaker whose rhetoric, as the New York Times described it, “was riddled with violent imagery and calls to fight harder than before.” His admonition to act “peacefully and patriotically” was perfunctory, overshadowed by his incendiary statement that “when you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules." That certainly sounds like permission to abandon the rules of civilized democracy.
President Trump and perhaps others should be investigated for incitement to riot and any attendant crimes. That should be assessed in the context of Trump’s previous invitations to attend the “wild” gathering and his previous calls for violence. ...
The next circle of accountability contains those who funded and advertised the event...
Beyond these are the Republican lawmakers who fanned anger and perpetuated the lie about a stolen election....
A wider circle of responsibility, for which the law provides no remedy, contains Fox News, which set up a business model based on spewing lies and sowing resentment. It's evening hosts beat the drum of election fraud. Rupert Murdoch should own up to his role and rebuild a model based on truth.
Fox News certainly does not have the same level of responsibility that, say, Trump does, nor does Cruz’s culpability equal the rioters'. But all have some level of responsibility. Congress must act under its rules to expel, censure or strip committee assignments from the worst players; voters must do the rest at the ballot box. The Justice Department can pursue individuals in court....
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Agree with Jennifer Rubin's sentiment "concentric circle of responsibility" theory: