For the last week or so, the Group Media Matters for America has been releasing a series that
they're calling Fox Leaks, which is material and information from Fox News that, uh, Fox
did not want you to see specifically. It includes multiple videos of Tucker Carlson, uh, which
as we all know, includes the video of Tucker Carlson trashing the Fox Nation streaming
app saying nobody watches it. It's a horrible app. The website doesn't work. And Fox has
finally gotten. Fox is at the point where they have now had their lawyers send a cease
and desist letter to Media Matters, telling them We own that footage. You can't put it
out there because it's our intellectual property. Let me read you this letter. Again, this is
from Fox's legal counsel, uh, to Media Matters, president Angelo, uh, Caroni, my apologies
if I'm getting that name incorrect.
Um, but anyway, dear Mr. Caroni, we write on behalf of Fox Corporation to clarify any
misunderstandings media matters may have, uh, may have had regarding previously unaired
footage that Media Matters has published in a series of articles headlined Fox Leaks.
That unaired footage is Fox's confidential intellectual property. Fox did not consent
to its distribution or publication, and Fox does not consent to its further distribution
or publication. This proprietary material was given to you without Fox's authorization.
Fox demands the media matter cease and desist from distribution publication and misuse of
Fox's misappropriated proprietary footage, which you are now on notice was unlawfully
obtained. We reserve all rights and remedies, meaning, if you don't stop, we're gonna sue
you, but you can't. And Fox knows that, and I know the good folks at Media Matters, and
they know that because this is protected speech. Now, while Fox does claim ownership of any
content that airs on their channel or any content that is created to air on their channel,
this particular content that has been leaked by Media Matters is of course not content
that was ever supposed to air. It was not recorded as part of a copyrighted set of material.
This was just the camera continued to roll as things were happening around the studio.
You don't actually have the intellectual property rights to unaired and footage that was unintended
to air. So you can claim it's your intellectual property all you want, but I don't think that's
going to stand up
In, in a court of law. And even if the claim that it is, our intellectual property does
hold up, it still doesn't change the fact that Media Matters has First Amendment protections,
and you can't sue them for releasing footage that was released to them. Fox knows that.
Fox knows that if they chose to go to court and try to fight this, it's a losing battle.
You're gonna probably, as I said, lose on two different fronts. Media matters is 100%
protected in this particular instance by the First Amendment. I mean that, that's why we
have leaks to the press. So, you know, you can send all the cease and desist letters
you want, but it's not gonna change. The fact that media matters is protected by this Constitution
of the United States. You yourself, network have tried to wrap yourself in the First Amendment
most recently in the Dominion Defamation lawsuit.
What you're really off about is how bad this makes your network Look, what you're really
off about is the fact that this may give ammo to other lawsuits that your network is still
facing. That's what's you off. That's why you're freaking out right now and sending
these letters that you know, really have no legal bearing on media matters. You are terrified
of what this footage is going to do to you, what it's going to do to those lawsuits and
what it could do to the future of your network. After all, Fox News has been losing viewers
ever since the Dominion lawsuit was settled. They're losing viewers because they fired
Tucker Carlson, Ms. N B C, last Monday for the first time in God knows how many years,
had more viewers than Fox News. Fox's scared and they know that if groups like media matters
keep putting out this footage, things are gonna get so much worse for them. But as I
said, I have interviewed for Ring of Fire. A lot of the people at Media Matters. You
know, I've met the people who, who founded it many, many years ago. They're very, very
smart people. They know what they're legally allowed to do and what they're not. And what
they're doing with the Fox League series is protected by the Constitution of the United
States, and they know that.