"[54] Later that year, Murdoch said he would step down and that his son Lachlan would take over both Fox Corporation and News Corp.[22] Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Congressional caucuses Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Fox News has been identified as practicing biased and false reporting in favor of the Republican Party, its politicians, and conservative causes,[24][25][26] while portraying the Democratic Party in a negative light.

[105][106] In 2018, Fox News was rated by Nielsen as America's most watched cable network, averaging a record 2.4 million viewers in prime time and total day during the period of January 1 to December 30, 2018.

[120] In July 2020, the Wikipedia community announced that Fox News would no longer be considered "generally reliable" in its reporting of science and politics, and that it "should be used with caution to verify contentious claims" for those topics.

[135] Fox News provided extensive coverage of the 2012 Benghazi attack, which host Sean Hannity described in December 2012 as "the story that the mainstream media ignores" and "obviously, a cover-up.

[27] Political scientists Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins wrote that Fox News helped "Republicans communicate with their base and spread their ideas, and they have been effective in mobilizing voters to participate in midterm elections (as in 2010 and 2014).

The memo was sent shortly after Republican pollster Frank Luntz advised Sean Hannity on his Fox show: "If you call it a public option, the American people are split.

Carr wrote: "Over many months, Fox lulled its conservative base with agitprop: that President Obama was a clear failure, that a majority of Americans saw [Mitt] Romney as a good alternative in hard times, and that polls showing otherwise were politically motivated and not to be believed.

"[200] According to the 2016 book Asymmetric Politics by political scientists Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins, "Fox News tends to raise the profile of scandals and controversies involving Democrats that receive scant attention in other media, such as the relationship between Barack Obama and William Ayers ... Hillary Clinton's role in the fatal 2012 attacks on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya; the gun-running scandal known as 'Fast and Furious'; the business practices of federal loan guarantee recipient Solyndra; the past activism of Obama White House operative Van Jones; the 2004 attacks on John Kerry by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth; the controversial sermons of Obama's Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright; the filming of undercover videos of supposed wrongdoing by the liberal activist group ACORN; and the 'war on Christmas' supposedly waged every December by secular, multicultural liberals.

[213] Fox News primetime hosts declared the unmaskings a "domestic spying operation" for which the Obama administration was "exposed" in the "biggest abuse of power" in American history.

"[36] In early 2024, Fox News host Jesse Watters promoted a conspiracy theory involving Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the American Democratic party in hopes of influencing voters ahead of the U.S. presidential primary season.

[230] On October 30, 2017, when special counsel Robert Mueller indicted Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, and revealed George Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty (all of whom were involved in the Trump 2016 campaign), this was the focus of most media's coverage, except Fox News'.

[237][238] When the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election intensified in October 2017, the focus of Fox News coverage turned "what they see as the scandal and wrongdoing of President Trump's political opponents.

[244] Other Fox News figures referred to the investigation as "corrupt", "crooked", and "illegitimate", and likened the FBI to the KGB, the Soviet-era spy organization that routinely tortured and summarily executed people.

[251] In August 2018, Fox News was criticized for giving more prominent coverage of a murder committed by an undocumented immigrant than the convictions of Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his long-term personal attorney, Michael Cohen.

[262] President Donald Trump tweeted about the Fox & Friends report shortly after it first aired, saying "The Failing New York Times foiled U.S. attempt to kill the single most wanted terrorist, Al-Baghdadi.

[275] Shepard Smith drew attention for being one of few voices formerly on Fox News to forcefully state that climate change is real, that human activities are a primary contributor to it and that there is a scientific consensus on the issue.

[284][285] Rich's relatives said: "We are a family who is committed to facts, not fake evidence that surfaces every few months to fill the void and distract law enforcement and the general public from finding Seth's murderers.

"[284] The spokesperson for the family criticized Fox News for its reporting, alleging the outlet was motivated by a desire to deflect attention from the Trump-Russia story: "I think there's a very special place in hell for people that would use the memory of a murder victim in order to pursue a political agenda.

The average Fox viewer was likely left with the impression that the media's criticism of Trump and leftist protestors' toppling of some Confederate statues were far greater threats to America than white supremacism or the president's apparent defense of bigotry.

"[305] During Glenn Beck's tenure at Fox News, he became one of the most high-profile proponents of conspiracy theories about George Soros, a Jewish Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist known for his donations to American liberal political causes.

[318][319][320][321] Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, two of Fox News's primetime hosts, promoted use of the drug hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19, an off-label usage which at the time was supported only by anecdotal evidence, after it was touted by Trump as a possible cure.

"[331] Days later, each of the three programs aired the same three-minute video segment consisting of an interview with an election technology expert who refuted the allegations promoted by the hosts, responding to questions from an unseen and unidentified man.

[332] In an April 2021 court brief seeking dismissal of the suit, Fox attorney Paul Clement argued that the network was simply "reporting allegations made by a sitting President and his lawyers.

Hannity told his audience, "Unlike this committee and their cheerleaders in the media mob, we will actually be telling you the truth," while Carlson said, "This is the only hour on an American news channel that won't be covering their propaganda live.

"[38] On March 31, 2023, Delaware Superior Court judge Eric Davis ruled in a summary judgment that it "is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true" and ordered for the case to go to trial.

Fox News aired a graphic detailing the supposed compulsory reductions, falsely indicating the information came from the Agriculture Department, which numerous Republican politicians and commentators tweeted.

Media Matters reported in September 2024 that during the Biden presidency Fox News had promoted a false "crime crisis" narrative, particularly directed toward undocumented migrants, which reflected Donald Trump's political rhetoric.

[385][386] Other prime-time Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham queried The Washington Post's reporting or opted to bring up sexual misconduct allegations regarding show business figures such as Harvey Weinstein and Louis C.K.

Patrick Caddell, a Fox News contributor and former pollster for President Jimmy Carter, said he had spoken with other Democratic consultants who had received similar warnings from the White House.

[401] On October 2, 2013, Fox News host Anna Kooiman cited on the air a fake story from the National Report parody site, which claimed Obama had offered to keep the International Museum of Muslim Cultures open with cash from his own pocket.