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Leaked Texts Show Fox Corp CEO Wanted to Ban Donald Trump for Violating Network’s ‘Golden Rule’

In a series of leaked text, Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told host Sean Hannity that Donald Trump might be banned for breaking the network's "golden rule."

By Sweta Choudhury
President Donald Trump has a reputation for blunt exchanges. He often ignites feuds with leaders and members of the opposition parties via his social media rants and press interactions. Apart from this, his repeated clashes with media channels have consistently angered many. Newly released documents from Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corporation include a series of texts from CEO Lachlan Murdoch to Fox host Sean Hannity. In October 2020, Murdoch warned that President Trump would not be invited to the network if he used his airtime to attack Fox News. According to The Daily Beast, the messages read, “Sean, sorry, but the president is not coming back on air if he uses it to attack us,” the 54-year-old executive wrote. “It is the same rule we have with the other side. This is a golden rule.” He signed off with a casual “Thx L.” Murdoch sent these messages after Trump appeared on Fox in an interview with Sean Hannity, during which the president complained that Fox had become a “much different place” and confronted two reporters. This was the instance when Trump broke the golden rule that Lachlan Murdoch did not like. The texts were released as part of the Smartmatic lawsuit, in which the voting technology company argues Fox News knowingly pushed Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen as Dominion Voting Systems helped “steal” the election from him. As reported by Associated Press, they alleged that Dominion’s machines deleted or switched votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, even though no evidence supported this claim. However, the channel continued to air them even though internal documents said that many people from the network knew they were "false and crazy," leading to the Capitol riots.  Yet Fox aired the claims to keep the MAGA fan base hooked as viewership dropped, and they thought of it as a “newsworthy story.” Eventually, Dominion Voting Systems stated that Fox News had caused serious reputational harm and filed a lawsuit against the network. Fox ended up paying Dominion Voting Systems nearly $787.5 million to avoid a high-profile trial, even though it offered no apology. After the deal was announced, Dominion attorney Justin Nelson said, “The truth matters. Lies have consequences. ”Fox claimed that it also tried to distance itself from Donald Trump after his loss by imposing a "soft ban," however, a November 23, 2020, email from Rupert Murdoch to Lachlan read, “Getting killed in audience numbers.” Lachlan replied that the drop was keeping him “awake at night,” and they continued to entertain the MAGA loyalist. Meanwhile, Trump's relationship with Fox News has been a turbulent ride. It is not just close but quite influential. The 79-year-old president often reacts to Fox segments in real time on social media, but he has also criticized its polling and bashed it when it wrote positively about his opponents.  Throughout his administration, Donald Trump appointed nearly two dozen people from Fox News, including current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former Fox host. Moreover, the network also allegedly has an indirect influence on the Republican candidate's decisions. According to The New Yorker, recent reporting suggests that the network’s coverage of the Iran–Israel conflict played a role in motivating Trump to enter the war. Therefore, given the channel's support and loyalty to Trump, CEO Lachlan Murdoch's condition seems fair, doesn't it? After all, politics is a game of convenience, and in most cases, there will always be a winner and a loser.

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