Fox News wants external inquiry into ABC’s Four Corners’ two-part series Fox and the Big Lie
Fox News has demanded an independent external inquiry into the ABC’s Four Corners series on the US broadcaster.
Fox News has called for an independent external review of the ABC’s airing of a two-part series on Four Corners, labelling the program “indefensible” and “a gross distortion of the truth” for falsely blaming Rupert Murdoch for Donald Trump’s refusal to accept his electoral defeat.
Fox News’s general counsel Bernard Gugar has written a second legal letter in as many weeks to ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson, outlining the many errors in the two episodes that aired on the public broadcaster’s flagship investigative program.
It’s understood the letter, which was also sent to the media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, highlighted critical information given to the ABC before the airing of the episodes that Fox claims the ABC ignored.
An external review of the two-part series would be similar to what occurred with the ABC’s recent independent inquiry into Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire, which was ordered by the ABC board and conducted by investigative journalist Chris Masters and University of Sydney professor Rod Tiffen.
The Four Corners series titled Fox and the Big Lie was led by ABC journalist Sarah Ferguson and attempted to smear the Murdoch-controlled broadcaster with false claims that tilted the debate against Fox News.
The 27-page letter argues the series was an attack on the US broadcaster that breached the ABC’s Code of Practice, which states it must “ensure that the gathering and presentation by the corporation of news and information is accurate and impartial according to the recognised standards of objective journalism”.
Gugar stated in the letter the ABC’s attack on Fox News was “indefensible and cannot stand”.
“The episodes flout the letter and the spirit of the Australian Broadcasting Code of Practice and run afoul of the federal parliament’s primary standards for the ABC,” he said.
“Those authorities make it clear that the ABC has a duty to gather and present accurate information in an impartial manner.”
This latest letter comes 12 days after Gugar’s first legal letter the day before the first 45-minute episode of the series aired.
It warned the ABC that Fox was considering all its options.
In the second episode, which ran for 48 minutes, Ferguson described Fox News as “the Trump network”, an “echo chamber” and also a “propaganda vehicle”.
The second letter, which was sent to Ms Buttrose and Mr Anderson on Friday, said the “the vast majority of them (the interviewees on the Four Corners program) shared the same anti-Fox News bias”.
This included electronic voting company Smartmatic’s lawyer Erik Connolly, who outlined his vested interest in vilifying Fox News amid an ongoing litigation in the US to sue Fox for billions of dollars.
His arguments have been widely contested and viewers were not given any opposing arguments, instead Ferguson just made a brief reference on air that Fox News had rejected the cases.
The ABC aired a small snippet of a lengthy statement provided by Fox that said: “Fox News covered the election in the highest tradition of the First Amendment”.
Fox has demanded “an answer and a correction” within 14 days of the ABC receiving the second letter on Friday.
During the series it interviewed six former employees of Fox News and all but one of them had departed Fox News at least three years ago.
Despite this, in the second episode Ferguson stated: “That the Murdoch’s Fox News joined the effort to spread lies and propaganda for Donald Trump was no surprise to the insiders who spoke to us.”
Gugar said: “The end result is television programming that violates fundamental tenets of the ABC’s charter and is not worthy of the trust that the people of Australia have placed on the ABC.”
The ABC was approached for comment.
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