Fox News Has Caused Incalculable Damage to the U.S.—Here’s an Idea for Holding Them Accountable

Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox News and reached a $787.5 million settlement.

Why?

Because Fox broadcast false claims about the company, and Dominion alleged those claims caused enormous damage to its reputation and business.

Wouldn’t it also be considered damage if my uncle no longer talks to me because of Fox News’ political propaganda?

They’ve spent years broadcasting false claims that convinced him I’m an enemy of the United States simply because I don’t support Trump.

Unfortunately, my story isn’t unique. Countless Americans say their families have been torn apart by Fox News’ dishonest propaganda. To me, that represents a tremendous amount of damage.

Remember when the Supreme Court said corporations are people? I’m not a lawyer, but common sense would suggest that if corporations are people, and they can sue Fox News for their harmful lies, then shouldn’t the American people have the same rights? Couldn’t we unite and file a massive class action lawsuit?

It doesn’t seem like it would be especially difficult to build the argument that viewers were knowingly misled. You can turn on the channel at almost any time of the day and hear misleading or propagandistic messaging.

Additionally, several former Fox News employees and contributors have publicly criticized the network after leaving, describing a culture where ratings and audience expectations outweighed objective journalism.

It’s utterly insane that a company can profit from disinformation, especially when we already know how harmful prolonged deception and propaganda can be to society.

Decades of psychological research have shown that prolonged exposure to deception, manipulation, and propaganda can have profound effects on the human mind. Over time, it can distort a person’s perception of reality, increase confusion and anxiety, erode trust, and make it more difficult to separate fact from fiction.

I’ve witnessed friends and family members get sucked into this propaganda rabbit hole, so I’ve seen the harmful effects on their mental health with my own eyes.

Even though I don’t consume this destructive propaganda, I have still been negatively impacted by it, and I know countless other people are in the same boat.

So my question is simple: Could the American people who don’t watch Fox News have a legal claim, and could we unite behind a class action lawsuit?

I’m sharing this idea because I think it’s worth exploring together. If you’re an attorney—or know someone with experience in this area—I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

It could be as simple as reaching out to organizations that specialize in public-interest litigation. Groups such as Democracy Forward, Protect Democracy, and CREW spend their time tackling complex legal questions involving government accountability and democratic institutions. If you know someone at one of these organizations, it would be great to hear what they think.

If legal experts believe there’s a viable path forward, the next steps would simply be to organize, create a name to unite behind, secure legal representation, and start promoting the lawsuit so every American who has been affected can demand accountably.

If we get started right now, perhaps we could generate enough momentum to file the suit as soon as Trump is out of office. The timing seems ideal and I don’t think this insanity is going to stop unless we roll up our sleeves and make it happen ourselves. Nobody should be able to profit from lies—and if we get enough people to demand justice, hopefully we can put Fox News out of business.

Please like and share this article if you think it is worth exploring so more people can get involved. And let’s use the comment section as a place to share ideas and discuss a path forward to stopping political propaganda once and for all.