A small Australian news website has dared media magnate Lachlan Murdoch to sue it over a post tying his family name to the attack on the United States Capitol.
The June opinion piece for Crikey does not expressly name Lachlan Murdoch, but he claims that it defames him.
His attorneys claim the document contains “false” and “scandalous” assertions that Mr. Murdoch engaged in criminal activity.
But Crikey executives defend the article as “public interest journalism.”
The piece, released amid congressional hearings investigating the 6 January riots of 2012, was titled: “Trump is a proven psychopath and traitor. And Murdoch is his uncharged accomplice.”
The story does not clarify which member or members of the Murdoch family it refers to, but it does reference Fox News, a division of Fox Corporation that is led by Lachlan Murdoch.
Crikey, which was founded in 2000 and employs ten full-time journalists, asserts that the story includes the name Murdoch only twice and is clearly about News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch and not his son.
Crikey’s leaders state in an open letter published as an advertisement in the New York Times and the Canberra Times that they intend to defend themselves in court against the charges.
The CEO of Crikey’s parent company, Private Media, told that they are “very confident” in their case.
Will Hayward stated, “We have opted to stand up to Lachlan Murdoch not just because we feel our reporting to be fair comment, but also because we intend to stand on the side of free speech in the face of virtually unlimited power and resources.”
A spokeswoman for Fox Corporation’s chief executive, Lachlan Murdoch, declined to comment.
However, emails from his attorneys, released by Crikey, contend that the article’s publishing was “malicious” and “clearly indefensible.”
They claim that Mr. Murdoch was identified in the piece, which claimed that he illegally colluded with Donald Trump to change the results of the 2020 presidential election and to instigate a mob with “murderous intent” to march on the Capitol.
Crikey initially agreed to delete the article from its website and post an editorial statement clarifying its position in response to the initial complaint.
However, once Mr. Murdoch’s attorneys refused to accept those terms, the article was republished.
This is not the first time Mr. Murdoch has threatened Crikey with legal action.
Last year, the website was forced to apologize and pay Mr. Murdoch’s legal fees after it published false charges against him.
In September 2020, Crikey was also required to apologize for equating Mr. Murdoch to a leader of a criminal organization.
