Sydney, Aug 24 (AFP/APP): Fox News boss Lachlan Murdoch has sued a small Australian media outlet for defamation over an opinion piece that linked his media empire to the US Capitol riots.
The scion of the Murdoch media empire is seeking damages, accusing Crikey staff of tarnishing his reputation and “covertly using another media organisation to harass” him.
Murdoch, whose Fox News Channel regularly rails at threats to free speech, also asked the court to permanently ban the site from publishing anything suggesting he “illegally conspired with Donald Trump” around the events of January 6.
The lawsuit was filed late Tuesday in Australia’s federal court, and came after Crikey published letters from Murdoch’s lawyers and dared him to sue.
Crikey even took out an advertisement in the New York Times on Monday, publishing an open letter that welcomed the opportunity to “test this important issue of freedom of public interest journalism in a courtroom”.
Murdoch is chief executive of media behemoth Fox Corporation, which owns Fox News, and co-chairman of News Corp.
He is the eldest son of billionaire media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, owner of scores of outlets including The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.
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