Fox hit with new charges to its credibility
NEW YORK — Things had started settling down following a tumultuous year at Fox News Channel before it was hit with a cover headline in the New York Daily News, “Fake News Channel,” and questions about the independence of its journalists on Wednesday.
A defamation lawsuit filed this week accuses the network of making up quotes and pushing a false story that benefits President Donald Trump, even inviting the chief executive into the editorial process.
In essence, Fox is accused of creating fake news to debunk a story Trump has complained is fake news.
“The charge is a very serious one, if substantiated,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, communications professor and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. “It speaks to the credibility of Fox as a news organization.”