It’s not exactly a secret that Dominion Voting System’s defamation case against Fox News was devastating for the controversial network. We are, after all, talking about litigation — recently resolved by way of a $787.5 million settlement — that produced evidence that suggested Fox promoted bogus election claims they knew to be false, on purpose, in order to placate its audience and make money.
What was far from clear, however, was whether the story would reach the public at large and affect the network’s standing. A Washington Post analysis this week pointed to data that suggests the case did have a meaningful impact.
In a new poll from the Economist and YouGov, Americans say, 51 percent to 21 percent, that Fox hosts said things about the 2020 election that they knew to be untrue. Remarkably, even Fox’s base of Republican-leaning Americans takes a dim view: Nearly as many Republicans said Fox hosts effectively lied (31 percent) as dispute that assertion (34 percent). The near-even split was similar among supporters of Donald Trump: 30-35.
The “knew to be untrue” dimension to this stands out. Every news organization and media professional has, at one time or another, gotten something wrong. That includes me. But in journalism, there’s an enormous difference between making a mistake and peddling deliberate falsehoods.
The survey data suggests that a narrow majority of Americans now believes that Fox is guilty of the latter. The Post’s article added:
The poll also shows Fox ranking last for “accurate” coverage of the 2020 election. Only 12 percent overall said Fox’s 2020 coverage was “almost always accurate,” which was less than the percentages for CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC and CBS. And less than half (49 percent) said Fox’s coverage was at least “mostly accurate.” This was again lower than all six broadcast outlets tested, which ranged between 56 percent and 58 percent.
In situations like these, it’s best not to rely too heavily on one poll, which makes it all the more important to emphasize that there’s other data pointing in the same direction.
As we discussed a couple of months ago, a national poll from Quinnipiac University also found that nearly two-thirds of Americans believed Fox News “should be held accountable after Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch acknowledged in a deposition that a number of the network’s hosts spread false information about the 2020 presidential election being stolen from Donald Trump.” Variety, which covers the entertainment industry, published a related report, highlighting the results of a poll from an opinion research firm called the Maru Group. It found roughly one-in-five Fox News viewers said they now have less trust in the network, and roughly one-in-ten Fox News viewers said they’re watching the network less than they used to in the wake of the revelations. It’s difficult to say with confidence whether these attitudes will persist or fade, but by all appearances, the recent revelations weren’t at all flattering, and they did not go unnoticed.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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