Fox News Tucker Carlson Election Denialism Letter

by Charles Ellis Schumer, Hakeem Sekou Jeffries

Congress of the United States
Washington, DC 20515

March 1, 2023

Rupert Murdoch Chairman Fox Corporation 1211 6th Ave. New York, NY 10036	Suzanne Scott CEO FOX News Media 1211 6th Ave. New York, NY 10036
Lachlan K. Murdoch Executive Chairman and CEO Fox Corporation 1211 6th Ave. New York, NY 10036	Jay Wallace President and Executive Editor FOX News Media 1211 6th Ave. New York, NY 10036

Dear Mr. Rupert Murdoch et al:

As noted in your deposition released yesterday, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and other Fox News personalities knowingly, repeatedly, and dangerously endorsed and promoted the Big Lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election. Though you have acknowledged your regret in allowing this grave propaganda to take place, your network hosts continue to promote, spew, and perpetuate election conspiracy theories to this day.

The leadership of your company was aware of the dangers of broadcasting these outlandish claims. By your own account, Donald Trump’s election lies were “damaging” and “really crazy stuff.” Despite that shocking admission, Fox News hosts have continued to peddle election denialism to the American people.

This sets a dangerous precedent that ignores basic journalistic fact-checking principles and public accountability. This is even more alarming after Speaker McCarthy is reportedly allowing Tucker Carlson to review highly sensitive security camera footage of the events surrounding the violent January 6 insurrection.

We demand that you direct Tucker Carlson and other hosts on your network to stop spreading false election narratives and admit on the air that they were wrong to engage in such negligent behavior.

As evidenced by the January 6 insurrection, spreading this false propaganda could not only embolden supporters of the Big Lie to engage in further acts of political violence, but also deeply and broadly weakens faith in our democracy and hurts our country in countless other ways. Fox News executives and all other hosts on your network have a clear choice. You can continue a pattern of lying to your viewers and risking democracy or move beyond this damaging chapter in your company’s history by siding with the truth and reporting the facts. We ask that you make sure Fox News ceases disseminating the Big Lie and other election conspiracy theories on your network.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer Majority Leader United States Senate	Hakeem Jeffries Minority Leader United States House of Representatives