Introduction

The Fox Cable News —M.A.G.A. Republican Party—Dark-Money Influence Axis is the greatest criminal conspiracy of our time. They are dependent on the systematic broadcast of misinformation to gain and maintain power. Disinformation is the greatest threat to American democracy in its history. The largest disinformation machine in the United States: Fox [Cable] News has its headquarters here in New York City drawing on the talent, resources and prestige of this great city. By spreading right-wing disinformation, Fox News is harming this country on the local, state and national level. New York City has a great opportunity to lead the nation in combating propaganda-parading-as-news by shutting down the biggest disinformation machine of them all.

Authoritarianism is not back by popular demand. It is back because aspiring authoritarians have updated an old playbook and are brazenly using its methods and applying its principals with the latest communications technology to seize as much power as they can.

The basic purpose of both civil and criminal law is to prevent harm. Once the harmful effects of disinformation can be linked back to their authors, purveyors of misinformation can be held to account and made to stop.

Any society, business or government depends on the accurate transmission of knowledge to function. A healthy democracy must ensure the truthfulness of the information it shares if is to thrive. All authoritarian governments depend on the suppression of a free press and the control of information to maintain control. In 2024, a presidential election year, authoritarian forces continue to threaten America’s democracy by the broadcast of disinformation that has radicalized and deluded tens of millions of American citizens.  

Regulating disinformation is one of the great challenges of our time. The purpose of this forum is to draw attention to this problem and outline a plan to ensure the American Public is properly informed and can easily discern fact from fiction.

Grounds for shutting down Fox Cable News

•False advertising: What appears to be a news presentation is thinly veiled propaganda. Such propaganda abuses the implicit trust viewers invest in a news broadcast to properly and fully inform themselves.

•Sedition: It is the job of journalists to scrutininze the activities of local, state and federal government. Fox News does not practice citizen advocacy that exposes corrupt government practices: They are a false news purveyor that covers up and excuses corrupt practices in business and government.

•Condoning criminal behavior: Right-wing Republicans are employing a classic divide and conquer strategy. They divide Americans along religious, political and cultural differences. Then they condone racism, normalize violence and glorify gun ownership, which has resulted in an increase in mass shootings, voter intimidation and threats to public officials.  

•Colluding with America’s enemies: Ukraine is a budding democracy and an ally of the United States and N.A.T.O. Russia is an oppressive autocracy and an enemy of the United States. My best guess is Fox News excuses Russia’s behavior because the Republican Party depends on Russian disinformation to give them an edge in elections: a political bargain with the Devil if there ever was one.

•Defaming the people they disagree with: Conservatives have a hit list of enemies they relentlessly demonize and defame

•Defamation of New York City: Blue cities are regularly depicted as mismanaged, crime-infested cesspools, and because of Donald Trump’s court cases in Manhattan, N.Y.C. gets an additional dose of conservative vitriol as both a dangerous place to visit and a bad place to do business.

•Interfering with the proper administration of justice. To make the Big Lie, Jaunary 6 and Trump’s criminal behavior seem justifiable, the Republican party does their best to undermine trust in the American Justice system. Fox cable News, the MAGA Republican Party and Donald Trump are the actual criminals and should be brought to justice

•Fox Cable News is running an organized crime network: They are the puppet masters of millions of conservatively radicalized citizens: an army of political zombies willfully consuming the nonsense Fox Cable News dishes out 24 hours a day. Republican government officials could not get away with their shenanigans without Fox News supporting their efforts. They doctor news footage and spin messages to make it seem like Republicans are doing a good job. Many government officials, even judges, tune into Fox News to get their marching orders.

•Misinforming the public: Instead of properly informing viewers so they can make up their own minds, Fox News misinforms viewers, does their critical thinking for them and supplies them with the talking points they use to excuse their nefarious deeds.