As the results began to flood in on a bruising midterm election night for the Republicans, Donald Trump picked an unlikely scapegoat: Fox News.
asserted
Trump → begin → scapegoat
The US president, evidently glued to Fox’s coverage, took aim at the channel’s polls and choice of guests in a slew of angry late-night posts on Truth Social.
asserted
president → glue → Social
“FoxNews bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse,” he wrote.
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he → bear → opposition
At the same time, he hit the network with a dig about its viewership.
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he → hit → viewership
“FoxNews Ratings are way down (27%!) because they’re spending too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats!
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they → spend → Dumocrats
All of those people who used to watch Fox, and no longer do, get it.
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who → use → it
It’s them, not me – My numbers are better than they have ever been.”
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they → ’ → ?
The comments came even as Trump called and texted into the Murdoch-owned news network, which has long been his biggest cheerleader and helped bring him to power.
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which → come → power
It underscores the complex, co-dependent relationship between the two.
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It → underscore → two
The Democrats’ stunning midterms victory raises questions about Fox’s place in the media landscape, amid a sharp drop in ratings.
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victory → raise → ratings
Once an all-powerful force in US politics, its influence is fading.
asserted
influence → fade → politics
For all the talk of balance, no individual has come to embody Fox more than him.
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individual → come → him
His bolshie and erratic behaviour has dominated the news agenda and provided news fodder for more than a third of the network’s life.
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behaviour → dominate → life
A spurred and vengeful Trump may present more fodder for the network, as will coverage of the wave of “far-Left” Democrats who have now come to power.
uncertain
who → present → power
But there is no guarantee that audiences will stick with them for these stories.
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audiences → be → stories
Many have already jumped ship to YouTube or streamers.
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Many → jump → YouTube
For cable news networks, election nights are often compared to the Super Bowl as droves of viewers tune in for blow-by-blow updates.
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droves → compare → updates
Fox even deployed a special chatbot providing real-time answers to audience questions.
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Fox → deploy → questions
The run-up to the midterms provided ample material, with Trump facing off against Barack Obama on the campaign trail in recent weeks.
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Trump → provide → weeks
Fox News attracted an average audience of 1.1 million in October, down 27 per cent compared with last year, according to official figures from Nielsen.
uncertain
News → attract → Nielsen
In primetime hours between 8pm and 11pm, Fox pulled in fewer than 1.7 million viewers, down from 2.3 million at the same time last year.
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Fox → pull → time
The network looks set to record its worst-performing month for overall viewers since December 2023.
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network → set → December
The decline has not escaped the attention of Fox bosses.
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decline → escape → bosses
Lachlan Murdoch, the 55-year-old scion whose ascension to the throne of the family empire was confirmed last year following a fraught succession battle, this week admitted that the network had been hit by “viewer fatigue”.
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network → confirm → fatigue
“It was a tremendous news cycle this time last year, which we’re [comparing] against,” he told investors, pointing to events in 2025, including the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
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he → compare → Kirk
Murdoch insisted this was a broader trend, rather than a reflection on Fox specifically.
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this → insist → Fox
“Those viewers are not going to any other news channel,” he said.
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he → go → channel
“They’re not switching to MS Now or to CNN.
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They → switch → CNN
They’re just fatigued and watching slightly less television overall.
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They → fatigue → television
Yet these claims are undermined by viewing figures for CNN and MS Now – the network formerly known as MSNBC – which grew 19 per cent and 13 per cent in primetime respectively last month.
uncertain
which → undermine → primetime
“Human nature is at play here, especially when it comes to political news consumption where people seek affirmation that ‘their side’ is right and winning when momentum is in their favour,” says Mike Proulx, an analyst at research and advisory firm Forrester.
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Proulx → come → Forrester
“When that’s not the case, people can shut down and seek an escape from reality, which results in news avoidance.”
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which → ’ → avoidance
Fox remains the largest cable news network.
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Fox → remain → ?
The company argues that its rivals are growing from a low comparison last year and say the network enjoyed its highest-rating midterm year ever despite the slump.
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network → argue → slump
A spokesman said: “Fox News has been the No.1 one network in cable news for a quarter of a century, throughout every administration since 2001.
“
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News → say → 2001
More recently, the network has expanded its dominance beyond linear, where it is not only the top-rated cable network on television, but dominates digital, streaming, social media and YouTube, generating nearly 4 billion YouTube video views this year alone.
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it → expand → views
Nevertheless, the weakness during what should be a strong period for viewing figures points at a tougher future ahead.
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what → view → future
Cable networks have for years been battling an exodus of audiences to streaming alternatives, known in the US as “cord-cutting”.
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networks → battle → cutting
Fox last year launched its own streaming service – Fox One – in an effort to counteract this trend.
asserted
Fox → launch → trend
Proulx says traditional TV had lost its grip on non-Boomer audiences.
asserted
TV → say → audiences
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
