Rupert Murdoch’s motive is not ideology — it is profit and leverage

A Fact-Based Rebuttal: Megyn Kelly, Fox News, and the Business of Dishonesty

By SDC News One, IFS News Writers

This isn’t about opinion, ideology, or “both sides.” The record is public, adjudicated, and uncontested.

1. Megyn Kelly knows the law — and misrepresents it anyway

Megyn Kelly is a licensed attorney. That matters, because when she blurs the line between legal and illegal, it cannot be excused as confusion.

She routinely:

• minimizes criminal conduct when it aligns with her political audience

• inflates or distorts lawful actions when they conflict with that audience

• applies empathy selectively, depending on who benefits politically

That isn’t commentary. That’s professional malpractice of public trust.

Recent commentary by Megyn Kelly and other Fox News personalities has renewed scrutiny of the network’s role in spreading false claims about the 2020 presidential election and its continued defense of January 6th defendants.

The facts are not in dispute.

In 2023, Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit. Court filings revealed internal communications showing Fox hosts and executives — including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham — knew claims of widespread election fraud were false but continued to air them.

The network settled rather than testify under oath.

Judges have since ruled that Fox’s conduct met the legal standard of actual malice — knowingly broadcasting false statements that caused harm.

Despite this, Fox News commentators continue to characterize January 6th, 2021, as a protest rather than an insurrection.

That framing conflicts with court rulings and charging documents. More than 1,200 people have been charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Hundreds have been convicted, including for violent assaults on law enforcement officers. Federal judges — including those appointed by Donald Trump — have repeatedly described the event as an effort to obstruct the constitutional transfer of power.

Media analysts note that Rupert Murdoch’s outlets have employed similar high-conflict programming strategies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia — prioritizing audience retention through outrage-driven narratives.

Murdoch has publicly acknowledged that Fox hosts “endorsed” false election claims, though he denies directing coverage.

Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News anchor and trained attorney, now operates independently but continues to echo many of the same narratives — often blurring legal distinctions that courts have already resolved.

Those are the facts on the record.

2. Fox News lied about the 2020 election — knowingly

This is not alleged. It is established fact.

• Fox News paid $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit.

• Internal Fox messages — disclosed in court — show that Hannity, Ingraham, Carlson, and executives knew the election-fraud claims were false.

• They aired them anyway because telling the truth risked losing viewers to competitors.

Fox was not punished for an opinion. It was punished for repeating factual falsehoods it knew to be false.

That is the legal definition of actual malice.

3. Rupert Murdoch’s motive is not ideology — it is profit and leverage

Murdoch does not operate as a nationalist, conservative, or patriot. He operates as a media monopolist.

His incentives are clear:

• outrage increases viewer retention

• fear suppresses critical thinking

• fractured societies are easier to manipulate and monetize

This same model has destabilized politics in:

• the United States

• the United Kingdom

• Australia

Murdoch’s companies don’t promote chaos because they “hate” democracy — they profit from eroding shared reality.

4. January 6 was not a protest — it was an insurrection

This is not a rhetorical label. Courts have ruled on this.

• Over 1,200 defendants have been charged

• Hundreds convicted of violent crimes, including assault on police

• Judges — including Trump-appointed judges — have repeatedly described the attack as an effort to obstruct constitutional governance

Defending January 6 participants while condemning unrelated acts of violence is not a difference of opinion. It is moral incoherence.

5. Calling Trump “Nazi” is inaccurate — but calling his movement authoritarian is precise

Historical accuracy matters.

• The Trump movement is not Nazi ideology

• It does employ authoritarian and fascist tactics: scapegoating, demonization of minorities, loyalty over law, and the use of state power for political retaliation

In the U.S. context, immigrants — particularly Hispanic migrants — are used as the primary out-group. This is a documented political strategy, not speculation.

This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with power consolidation through fear.

6. The pattern is hypocrisy, not disagreement

Megyn Kelly’s record shows:

• empathy for political allies, indifference for others

• defense of criminal conduct when it serves a narrative

• outrage selectively activated for audience reinforcement

That isn’t journalism. It’s tribal propaganda with legal credentials.

COMMENTARY KICKER (SDC NEWS ONE)

Here’s the part that matters.

This isn’t about conservative opinion. It’s about knowingly lying to an audience and then demanding immunity by calling it commentary.

Fox News didn’t lose nearly 800 million dollars because of bias.

They lost because they told lies they knew were lies — and the evidence was so overwhelming they couldn’t risk a trial.

Defending January 6th while dismissing its victims isn’t principled skepticism. It’s selective morality.

And when a licensed attorney pretends court rulings don’t exist, that’s not free speech — it’s calculated distortion.

The danger here isn’t that viewers disagree.

It’s that a major media ecosystem profits by training people to distrust reality itself.

That’s not journalism.

It’s a business model.

And it’s already been judged — in court.

Conclusion

The facts are not disputed. They are not hidden. They are not partisan.

Fox News lied about the election.

They knew it was a lie.

They paid nearly $800 million because the evidence was overwhelming.

Their hosts continue to profit from the same model of distortion.

This is not about free speech.

It is about knowingly poisoning public understanding for money.

And that, more than any label or insult, is the charge that stands — permanently — on the record.

-30-