Watchdog group sues Fox for creating what it calls an ‘epidemiological hazard’

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The Washington League for Transparency and Ethics has filed a lawsuit against Fox’s conservative cable channel for its coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.

In a suit filed Thursday, April 2, 2020, the league alleges the network has downplayed the pandemic, encouraged irresponsible behavior and labeled the outbreak as a hoax.

It specifically mentions disseminating “false, erroneous and incomplete information” and creating what it calls a “epidemiological hazard.”

Fox has responded to the lawsuit as frivolous and promises to fight back.

While the lawsuit likely doesn’t have much of a chance of holding up in courts, the network could be subject to litigation over more specific information it broadcast and people who were harmed or even killed as a result of it.

Fox insiders are reportedly at least somewhat concerned about that possibility, according to reporting by Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman.

Fox has also been the subject of an open letter signed by journalism and communications professors from across the country citing Fox’s broadcasts a public health danger.