Asking again: Can We Sue Fox News Yet? Asking for a Nation

(During telecast of Trump’s sorry ass birthday parade, Fox News fed in fake applause for Trump to its audience. Telecasts from other networks showed what really happened..mostly silence. Seeing this really pissed me off and prompted this writing.)

Dear Reader,

You know that feeling when you’re standing in a room full of people who are convinced the earth is flat, Elvis is alive, and Donald Trump is a genius patriot sent by God? That’s me every Thanksgiving. And Easter. And Tuesday morning in the grocery line behind someone explaining how “the deep state put fluoride in the vaccine to control gas prices.” And every time, I think the same thing:

We ought to be able to file a class action lawsuit against Fox News.

I’m not joking. I mean it in the same way you’d sue a manufacturer if their product poisoned your water or caused your house to burn down. Fox News is the chemical spill of American democracy. Toxic, preventable, and somehow still legally operating.

They Knew. They Lied. We Paid.

Let’s not forget: in 2023, Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million because, get this—they knew they were lying. Not suspected. Not possibly. Knew. There are emails and texts from Tucker Carlson and others saying things like, “This is BS” and “Sidney Powell is a lunatic,” yet night after night they spoon-fed that BS to their viewers like it was grandma’s apple pie. And you know who gobbled it up?

My uncle. My neighbor. My former boss. Half my Facebook feed. The sweet old woman at church who now refers to Nancy Pelosi as the Antichrist.

Fox News didn’t just peddle lies—they mainlined them into the American bloodstream.

And now we’re all sick.

Democracy Has Long COVID

We now live in a country where roughly a third of our population believes Trump won the 2020 election, despite losing by over seven million votes. A third of our population thinks January 6 was a peaceful tourist stroll through the Capitol. A third thinks that anyone who disagrees is part of a Satanic pedophile cabal.

This isn’t coincidence. It’s programming. Literally. And Fox has been leading the charge for decades, not just with Trump. They smeared Obama, denied climate change, cheered on the Iraq War, turned “liberal” into a slur, and taught your relatives that empathy is weakness and cruelty is strength.

This isn’t a news organization. It’s a cult with a broadcast tower.

The Personal Cost

Let me be clear: I’m not some coastal elite with no skin in the game. I live among these people. I love some of them. I used to trust them. I now attend family functions like I’m walking into an episode of Black Mirror. They stare at me like I’m the one who’s brainwashed, as they recite talking points spooned out by Sean Hannity like communion wafers.

Do you know what it feels like to watch someone you love fall for fascist cosplay because Tucker raised an eyebrow at a brown person with an accent? It’s horrifying. It’s grief in slow motion.

And still—they watch.

Where’s Our Lawsuit?

Let’s revisit the idea of a class action suit. In a rational world, we’d file under:

• Loss of National Unity
• Damage to Familial Relationships
• Induced Delusions
• Defamation of Reality
• Contributing to an Attempted Overthrow of the U.S. Government

If a pharmaceutical company can be sued for side effects, how is Fox News not liable for the side effect of millions now believing that teachers are grooming children, the vaccine was a plot, and Trump is the second coming of George Washington? They deliberately misinformed their audience for profit. That’s not news. That’s fraud.

They Don’t Even Believe It Themselves

The worst part? They don’t believe it. The executives. The anchors. The writers. It’s all a game to them. A way to keep their viewers angry, scared, and glued to the screen long enough to sell them a reverse mortgage or erectile dysfunction pills.

They stoke fear, and then sell the cure. Fear of immigrants? Here’s a gun. Fear of socialism? Here’s a gold bar. Fear of losing your whiteness? Here’s Donald Trump, swaddled in a flag, barely concealing his Mussolini cosplay.

A Nation on Fire—With Fox Holding the Matches

America is more divided, more delusional, and more dangerous than I’ve ever seen it in my lifetime. That’s not a coincidence. That’s programming. Fox isn’t the only culprit, but it’s the loudest, most consistent voice in the disinformation orchestra. And the worst part? They’ve taught a generation to distrust science, experts, empathy, education, and even their own families.

We’re not just suffering from the lies. We’re suffering from the dehumanization of everyone who dares to tell the truth.

The Fight Isn’t Over

We may not (yet) have a legal route to make Fox News answer to the citizens they’ve harmed, but we damn sure have moral and civic ones. Call them out. Cut the cord. Support real journalism. Talk to your family—even when it’s hard. And when someone says “Well, I saw on Fox…” you look them in the eye and say:

“Fox knew they were lying. Why are you still listening?”

Because honestly, until this toxic pipeline is shut off, we’re all just one rerun away from another January 6.

Stay angry. Stay smart. Stay loud.

Julie Bolejack, MBA

A Fox News Survivor, and still rebuilding my sanity one fact at a time