Fox Defeats Defamation Lawsuit by Former Biden Anti-Disinformation Official

Fox News Media and its parent company, Fox Corp, secured a legal victory on Monday with the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit filed by a former Biden administration official. Nina Jankowicz, who resigned from her U.S. Department of Homeland Security post in May 2022, accused Fox of defaming her as a supporter of censorship.

Chief U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly in Delaware ruled that Jankowicz could not substantiate her defamation claims. Jankowicz had alleged that Fox’s broadcasts forced her resignation from the Disinformation Governance Board, accusing the network of spreading malicious falsehoods for profit. Fox denied these claims.

In a statement, Fox News Media expressed satisfaction with the ruling, labeling the case “a politically motivated lawsuit aimed at silencing free speech.” Jankowicz’s legal team announced plans to appeal the decision.

The Disinformation Governance Board faced swift criticism from conservative opponents of President Biden and was suspended in May 2022 before being dissolved later that year. Judge Connolly noted that most Fox News statements targeted the board rather than Jankowicz directly, and viewers would likely interpret the statements as protected opinions. He described the board’s objective as a form of censorship.

Last year, Fox Corp settled a separate defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, acknowledging the court’s ruling that certain claims about Dominion were false.