Fact check: Claim falsely links BlackRock to Dominion Voting
The claim: BlackRock owns shares in Fox and Dominion, 'sued itself' to fire Tucker Carlson
An April 25 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims a conspiracy is behind the recent ouster of a high-profile media personality.
“Blackrock owns 59.M shares of Dominion,” reads the post. “Blackrock owns 45.7M shares of Fox. Blackrock sued itself and fired Tucker Carlson as part of that lawsuit. FIGURED IT OUT YET?”
The post was shared more than 300 times in two days. Another version of the claim was retweeted more than 15,000 times in one day.
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Our rating: False
BlackRock owns shares in Fox Corp. and Dominion Energy, not Dominion Voting Systems as this post asserts. It did not sue itself or have any role in Carlson's firing, the company said.
Private equity firm and its employees own Dominion Voting Systems
Fox News announced on April 24 that Carlson, a longtime cable news personality who hosted “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” was no longer with the company. The split came one week after Fox News settled a defamation suit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, as reported by USA TODAY.
Outlets including The Washington Post and NPR reported Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott made the decision to sever ties with Carlson.
BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager and ended the first quarter of 2023 with more than $9 trillion in assets. The firm said both the claim that it has a stake in Dominion Voting Systems and the suggestion that it was involved in Carlson’s departure were false.
“BlackRock has no ownership stake in Dominion Voting Systems, and we are not involved in the hiring and firing of employees at public companies in which our clients are invested,” reads an April 26 tweet from the company.
The numbers referenced in the post reflect shares BlackRock had in Fox Corp. and Dominion Energy, a Virginia-based energy company with more than 7 million customers across 16 states. It was previously known as Dominion Resources.
BlackRock owned more than 59.1 million shares in Dominion Energy as of Jan. 31, according to consulting company Fintel. It owned more than 45.7 million stocks in Fox Corp. as of Dec. 31, according to a Feb. 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
More: Tucker Carlson breaks silence after Fox News departure: 'See you soon'
Jack Eichner, a spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems, also said the claim is baseless.
“Dominion Voting Systems is not owned by BlackRock,” he said. “It is owned by Staple Street Capital and its employees.”
The private equity firm bought Dominion Voting Systems for $38.8 million in 2018 and got a more than 1,500% return on its investment after the settlement with Fox News, as reported by Fortune.
USA TODAY has previously debunked false claims about Dominion Voting Systems, including that it lost its lawsuits against Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, a judge ruled its machines were designed to create fraud, and its machines failed in a Colorado recount.
The users who posted the claim could not be reached for comment.
The Associated Press, PolitiFact, Reuters and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
BlackRock, April 26, Tweet
Jack Eichner, April 26, Email exchange with USA TODAY
SEC, Feb. 1, BlackRock Inc. Passive Investment – SC 13G/A
Fintel, accessed April 25, BlackRock Inc. Ownership in D/Dominion Resources, Inc.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: BlackRock invested in Dominion Energy, not Dominion Voting
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