Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch has struck out at online news publication Crikey over an article released in June linking himself and his father Rupert to the January US Capitol riots, threatening legal action if they don’t apologise.
The article in question, authored by Bernard Keane and titled “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor and Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator”, details links between Murdoch’s media outlet Fox News and the attack on the Capitol that attempted to deny President Joe Biden’s certification of victory over Donald Trump.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that multiple anonymous sources confirmed Murdoch has sent several legal letters to Crikey since June demanding an apology for the defamatory angle. The article has since been taken down despite the ongoing legal battle.
Editor-in-chief of Crikey Peter Fray said the publication is “sick of being intimidated by Lachlan Murdoch.”
This marks the third time in recent history that Murdoch has demanded an apology from Crikey. The most recent instance occurred last year when founder Stephen Mayne made claims about Murdoch’s time as a board member at Channel Ten.
Murdoch himself is currently in legal battles with several voting machine companies in the US who claim the Fox News coverage of the election results has permanently damaged their business.
