Lachlan Murdoch to pay $840,000 of Australian publisher’s legal fees
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch has paid $840,000 in legal fees to a company Australian publisherThat ends a protracted dispute over an editorial accusing the Murdoch family of responsibility for the January 6 events at the Capitol.
Murdoch sued news website Crikey last August after publishing a opinion column It argued that the Murdochs and Fox News as a whole should be blamed for the riot because the network had been promoting false election narratives.
The $840,000 payment is intended to pay for Private Media’s legal fees in the case resulting from the defamation lawsuit brought by Murdoch against Crikey’s publisher.
Private Media had raised over $350,000 through GoFundMe to cover legal costs. However, as a condition of Murdoch’s payment, the company must donate all defense funds raised to the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom.
Will Hayward, managing director of Private Media, said he was “delighted” to donate the money provided to the branch.
“This money was raised from the goodwill of people across Australia who believe in the importance of freedom of expression,” Hayward said in a statement. “These funds will now be used to support Allianz and its team in advocating for this cause around the world.”
Murdoch’s attorney, John Churchill, said in a statement Tuesday that when Fox Corp.’s chief executive “closed the case,” he “didn’t want to continue.” crikeys Using the court to hear a case from another jurisdiction that has already been settled and enable a marketing campaign aimed at attracting subscribers and increasing their profits.”
The CEO of Fox Corp. dropped its lawsuit against Crikey in April, just two days after Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems, which included a massive $787.5 million payout.
