New York City pension funds and the state of Oregon have sued Fox Corporation, alleging the company harmed investors by allowing Fox News to broadcast falsehoods about the 2020 election that exposed the network to defamation lawsuits. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware, accuses Fox of inviting defamation claims by amplifying conspiracy theories about the election, including a suit Fox News agreed to settle for nearly $800m with Dominion Voting Systems, a maker of voting machines. “Fox’s board of directors has blatantly disregarded the need for journalistic standards and failed to put safeguards in place despite having a business model that invites defamation litigation,” said Brad Lander, the New York comptroller who manages city pension funds. A spokesperson for Fox declined to comment. The pension funds are long-term shareholders of Fox, with shares valued at $28.1m at the end of July. Oregon holds shares in the company worth approximately $5.2m. The complaint, which does not specify what damages it seeks, alleges the Fox board decided to broadcast Donald Trump’s lies in order to satisfy his supporters, knowing doing so would expose the company to lawsuits. “Defendants chose to invite robust defamation claims, with potentially huge financial liability and potentially larger business repercussions, rather than disappoint viewers of Fox News,” the lawsuit says. In April, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion $787.5m to avert a trial in a lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 election. Dominion argued that Fox News damaged its reputation by airing phony conspiracy theories that its equipment switched votes from Trump to Joe Biden. Lachlan Murdoch, chair and chief executive of Fox, said when the settlement was announced that it avoided “the acrimony of a divisive trial and a multi-year appeal process, a decision clearly in the best interests of the company and its shareholders”. Another voting machine company, Smartmatic USA, sued Fox News over its coverage of election conspiracy theories. The Oregon attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, said Fox breached its fiduciary duties by disregarding legal risks. “The directors’ choices exposed themselves and the company to liability and exposed their shareholders to significant risks,” she said. “That is the crux of our lawsuit, and we look forward to making our case in court.”