Society of Professional Journalists says Fox News apparently gave its viewers false and misleading information

The Society of Professional Journalists, which has sometimes wrestled with the question of if, when and how to call out bad behavior in journalism, issued a statement Wednesday on Fox News's treatment of the allegations against Dominion Voting Systems in the weeks after the 2020 election.

SPJ President Claire Regan and the organizaiton's Professional Standards and Ethics Committee said recenly released evidence in Dominion's defamation lawsuit against Fox "appear to show that popular prime-time Fox News hosts, with support from network executives, gave their viewers false and misleading information."

The statement said the first tenet of SPJ's Code of Ethics, "Seek the truth and report it," is “a fundamental ethical rule of journalism . . . If a news organization knowingly spreads lies, either in news reporting or opinion, it has clearly breached this most sacred of principles. No responsible journalist can accept or excuse this behavior. News organizations have a fundamental obligation to be honest in the reporting and opinion they disseminate. It is unprofessional, unethical and potentially harmful for a journalist or news organization to deliberately mislead their audience, no matter the motivation or format.”

Fox has said it was reporting on matters of public concern, and that opinions endorsing the allegations against Dominion were constitutionally protected opinion. SPJ said, “The lines between factual reporting and commentary have become increasingly blurred. However, responsible opinion hosts and commentators have a duty to use verified facts as the basis of their arguments and to not peddle what they know to be lies and disinformation. Many people use the information they get from their favorite hosts and commentators to form their own opinions. We support journalists at Fox who have refused to take part in narratives of falsehoods.”

The statement concluded, “Some media companies have found footing in pandering to target audiences on all sides of our cultural and political divides. Appealing to confirmation bias and manufacturing outrage with deceptive posturing for profit, popularity or power while turning away from facts is a cynical and hypocritical strategy. It is unconscionable and an insult to the tens of thousands of American journalists, including many at Fox, who understand their obligation to serve the public interest, not the bottom line.”