From the very beginning of the pandemic, Rupert Murdoch feared one thing above all else. Not getting COVID, don’t get silly, Rupert probably went into complete isolation. He could watch his empire from behind closed doors. Additionally, the rumor (we have not verified) is that Rupert got his vaccine in December of 2020, as we suspect most billionaires did. No, Rupert didn’t fear his health would suffer from COVID.
He worried his network would be sued into oblivion, or at least that is our guess, given many articles written on the topic, some referencing a nervous Murdoch. Fox News is money printer in the basement of their midtown Manhattan. But all it takes is a few good lawsuits for that money to be gone. If someone proved that Fox downplayed COVID risks because it favored them politically, they could get hammered with punitive damages, the type that are designed to punish. An average person would be severely punished by a $20,000 punitive judgment. Imagine the money it would take to punish Fox.
Fox hosts would go back and forth on COVID but mostly tow the MAGA party line. They downplayed COVID risks, downplayed lockups, downplayed masks, and were downplaying the vaccine. Except many seem to have changed their tune, rather quickly.
Just this morning, we reported on the fact that Steve Doocy of Fox and Friends urged viewers to go get the vaccination, there were no microchips, nothing nefarious, and that the misinformation wasn’t coming from the government, it was coming out of Facebook.
This evening, we have Sean Hannity telling viewers to take the disease seriously and talk to their doctor about getting vaccinated, given their medical history. (The equivalent of telling them to get vaccinated). We heard rumblings last week also. There is change in the air at Fox News and that makes us wonder.
Hannity: Please take COVID seriously pic.twitter.com/mTy4gpYZ17 [1]
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 20, 2021 [2]
Yeah, it’s only been around for almost a year and four months now, but – yes, take this disease seriously. About that vaccine that’s been saving lives since January, talk to your doctor, to see if the life-saving vaccine is for you. They are sure acting like a group protecting themselves.
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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak