As You Sow proposal calls out legal risk to investors of misinformation spread by hosts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:  Sophia Wilson, Press Liaison, swilson@asyousow.org, (341) 600-1832

Berkeley, California—JULY 3, 2024—Today, Fox News (NASDAQ: FOX) asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to exclude an As You Sow shareholder proposal asking Fox to disclose the risks of inadequate differentiation between its on-air news and its opinion content. The proposal highlights the financial and reputational risks associated with viewers mistakenly assuming that Fox opinion personalities are journalists delivering fact-based information.

Fox News shareholders have already experienced financial harm from hosts allegedly presenting commentary and conjecture as fact. A $787.5 million settlement in April 2023 with Dominion Voting Systems stemmed from misleading and inaccurate statements made on Fox News alleging illegitimacy of the 2020 election due to Dominion’s voting machines. The settlement came after a court rejected Fox’s legal defense that the statements were “pure opinion,” noting that the statements “were made by newscasters holding themselves out to be sources of accurate information.”

“This shareholder proposal is an opportunity for Fox News to repair the damage to its reputation and minimize future risk to its shareholders,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. “Fox News only stands to gain from a clearer differentiation between its news and opinion content, as do its viewers who can be more confident in the entertainment-based opinion programs they watch and the accurate reporting they seek from the news.”

Another defamation lawsuit stemming from Fox’s coverage of the 2020 election was filed by Smartmatic, a voting technology company, seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corporation. The case is expected to proceed to trial in 2025 following multiple failed efforts by Fox to dismiss the case. The judge said Smartmatic’s case was strong enough to proceed against the parent company because it has “sufficiently alleged that (Fox) Corp. employees acted with malice by purposely and deliberating publishing knowingly false stories about (Smartmatic) in order to benefit (Fox) Corp.’s financial interest.”

“This proposal will also help protect Fox News from liability stemming from opinion hosts who knowingly present misinformation to grow their audience and influence,” added Behar. “The very public feud between Fox News and some of its most popular hosts over how misinformation was presented as fact necessitates some kind of protection for Fox News shareholders, which this resolution can provide.”

According to a legal filing by Dominion Voting Systems, the opinion hosts Tucker Carlson (later fired by Fox), Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, as well as Chairman Rupert Murdoch, repeatedly acknowledged in private their understanding that their coverage of the 2020 election was misleading. The messages show that Fox News stars and executives were afraid of losing their audience to conservative cable news alternatives after Fox News called Arizona for Mr. Biden. In 2021, Tucker Carlson admitted during an interview that he “sometimes lies” on his show: “I mean, I lie if I’m really cornered or something. I lie.” He added: “I really try not to. I try never to lie on TV. I just don’t ― I don’t like lying [but] I certainly do it, you know, out of weakness or whatever.” 

Current opinion show host Sean Hannity has also declared, “I don’t claim to be a journalist,” characterizing his show as “reporting straight news” and “. . .  a lot of opinion, so we’re the news page, the editorial page, the opinion page, we even do gossip and sports.” Yet, his program has the Fox News icon on the screen throughout his show. The shareholder proposal notes that differentiating Fox Opinion from Fox News is an easy way to avoid viewer confusion and reduce the risk of litigation, while costing Fox next to nothing to implement.

Please click here to download the below graphic showing Fox Host Dean Hannity with a Fox News versus Fox Opinion logo. 

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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder representative, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, biodiversity, racial justice, and workplace diversity. Click here to view As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.