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(CNN) Fox Corporation Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch on Friday dismissed a defamation lawsuit against the publisher of Crikey, the crappy news and commentary site in Australia. the lawyer said.
Murdoch’s attorney, John Churchill, said Murdoch was “confident” he could ultimately win in the case, which was due to go to trial later this year. Murdoch does not want to “sue another jurisdiction that has already settled and promote a marketing campaign aimed at attracting subscribers and making a profit.”
The decision comes days after Murdoch-controlled Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems for $787 million. And last week it follows another settlement with a Venezuelan businessman who accused Fox News of making false claims about him and the 2020 election.
Crikey considered admitting several facts uncovered in the Dominion case as evidence in his own case. This is the move Murdoch’s lawyers referred to in a statement Thursday.
Private Media said the withdrawal was a “substantial victory for legitimate public interest journalism.”
In a statement, the company said, “We support the position that Lachlan Murdoch was responsible for promoting the lying of the 2020 election results. I paid 10,000. [Australian dollars] To the Dominion to solve the case.”
The company said it was “proud to expose the hypocrisy and abuse of power of media billionaires.” “This is a victory for free speech. We won.”
The legal battle centered on a 2022 Crikey article headlined, “Trump is a confirmed libertarian traitor and Murdoch is his co-conspirator who has not been charged.” .
After the article was published, Murdoch demanded the article be removed and the outlet apologized, while Crikey temporarily removed the article but did not issue an apology. That didn’t satisfy Murdoch.
When Murdoch and Crikey failed to come to a resolution, the outlet reposted the article, exposing the legal threats it received from the Murdoch camp, calling it the “Lachlan Murdoch letter.” The outlet even put out a bold ad suing Murdoch.
Murdoch filed a lawsuit against Crikey’s publisher, Private Media, and dared to do so.
Crikey and Private Media have defended their claims through legal proceedings and said they are confident.
Murdoch would have been in an uncomfortable position if the case had gone to trial. Not only was he embroiled in another high-profile defamation case, but his camp would have effectively had to make the opposite assertion to what it did in the United States on defamation law.
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