Rupert Murdoch has personally sued Fox for ‘not telling the truth’ about the 2020 US election

Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan were sued over claims they failed to stop them Fox News airing “false and dangerous” claims about the 2020 presidential election.

Fox shareholder Robert Schwarz accused the billionaire media mogul and four other board members of failing to ensure Fox met its ethical standards and avoided reputational risks.

A lawsuit filed in Delaware alleges Fox aired lies about a stolen 2020 election to keep Donald Trump loyal.

Mr. Schwarz said: “Fox knew — from the panel — that Fox News was reporting false and dangerous misinformation about the 2020 presidential election, but Fox was more concerned about short-term ratings and market share than the long-term damage to its inability to tell the truth.”

The lawsuit cites filings from a separate legal battle that show Rupert Murdoch has personally admitted that some Fox executives “endorsed” the idea that the election was stolen.

Mr. Schwarz said the administration’s failure to act on “red flags” left Fox open to damaging legal claims.

Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic USA are suing Fox for defamation after the broadcaster claimed the companies’ machines were involved in a plot to steal the election from Mr Trump.

Dominion and Smartmatic are seeking a combined $4 billion in damages.

Mr Schwarz is now seeking compensation from Mr Murdoch, his son and Fox CEO Lachlanas well as directors Chase Carey, Roland Hernandez and Jacques Nasser.

Fox has been contacted for comment.

The lawsuit against Mr. It came to Murdoch when a judge in the Dominion case said Fox News had “credibility issues” after admitting, nearly two years after the lawsuit began, that Mr. Murdoch Company Officer.

High Court Judge Eric Davis called the belated disclosure “bizarre” and attacked Fox’s lawyers for previously arguing that Mr Murdoch was not an officer, only to change course shortly before the trial.

Dominion’s trial is scheduled to begin Monday and last five weeks.

Dominion claims that Fox destroyed its business by knowingly airing false claims that its ballot counting machines were used to hold election results 2020.

Fox argued that the vote-rigging claims by Mr. Trump and his lawyers were newsworthy in themselves and protected by legal doctrines of freedom of the press.

In March, the lawsuit released a trove of documents, including dozens of emails, text messages and statements in which Mr. Murdoch and other senior Fox executives acknowledged that claims about Dominion’s airing were false.