Fox News chief Lachlan Murdoch has launched a court case against Australian media outlet Crikey, accusing the site of slandering him in an op-ed piece on the January 6 US Capitol riots.
The lawsuit was filed in Australia’s federal court late Tuesday, a day after Crikey released a cache of legal letters Murdoch’s lawyers had sent since the article was published in June, daring the media scion to sue.
Crikey even ran an ad in the New York Times on Monday, publishing an open letter welcoming the opportunity to “test in a courtroom this important issue of journalism’s freedom of public interest.”
Murdoch is chief executive of media giant Fox Corporation and co-chairman of News Corp.
He is the eldest son of billionaire media magnate Rupert Murdoch, owner of numerous outlets including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.
Crikey’s article, headlined “Trump is a confirmed traitor out of control. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator” – did not name the younger Murdoch directly.
However, it referred to the “Murdochs and their mob of venomous Fox News commentators” in the last paragraph.
Murdoch’s lawyers, in letters to Crikey, allege that their client was defamed 22 times in the article and his social media posts.
While Crikey initially deleted the article on the day it was published as a “goodwill gesture” after Murdoch’s lawyers made contact, the article was reinserted amid the litigation.
Crikey editor Peter Fray and chairman Eric Beecher said Wednesday that the site “stands by its story.”
“We look forward to defending our independent public interest journalism in court against the considerable resources of Lachlan Murdoch,” they said.
“We believe the coverage of the January 6 events at the US Capitol and Fox News’ role in those events is entirely legitimate.”
Murdoch’s representatives were also asked for comment.
The story has made waves in Australia, where, despite their global expansion, the Murdoch family remains a major player in local media.
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull even weighed in on the saga on Wednesday, saying he was “very surprised” by Murdoch’s decision.
“I think it’s hypocritical,” he told RN Breakfast radio show, adding that the Murdochs “always bitched about free speech and that defamation laws are too harsh.”
Australia’s tough defamation laws offer little protection to the media and have earned the country the nickname of the defamation capital of the world.
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