Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall took exception to a comment from Greg Gutfeld Tuesday, after the latter opined media coverage of the war in Ukraine is being used to elicit an “emotional response” from the public.

What set Tuesday’s sparring apart was the fact that Hall was reporting from the war zone in Kyiv from the news division. Gutfeld, meanwhile, was in-studio when offering his usual brand of commentary.

Geraldo Rivera noted that Gutfeld did not appear to be on board with the “prevailing narrative” from Ukraine, and Gutfeld said that was a pretty good assessment, adding: that the "galvanizing force' of reporting from Ukraine is creating a "narrative." 

"I understand why they only go in one direction, because it’s the invaded who experience the atrocity, right? And that’s all we’re going to see," Gutfeld lamented, but expressed concern that it's "a lot like other stories we've gone through" where 'an image" is shown repeatedly to "create some kind of emotional response out of you, because that makes a profit for news companies."

After a break, Jeanine Pirro asked Hall for an update on Russia’s war against the Ukrainian people.

Hall appeared displeased, as he had been listening to the show from Europe.

“Good evening, Judge,” he said. “And speaking of someone on the ground, I want to say that this is not the media trying to drum up some emotional response. This is absolutely what's happening.”

"From all corners of this country people are fleeing to safety, two million of them so far," he said, describing cities being "flattened" by Russian forces.

“In the city of Mariupol, people are drinking from puddles because the Russian forces haven’t allowed them to get out,” he added. “When they have tried to get out, they’re shelled. Those routes are mined, the Red Cross buses have been unable to get in.”

"It is an absolute catastrophe," said Hall,  and he showed footage of people fleeing the country with little more than the clothes on their backs.

"It is a tragic, tragic thing that is happening in this country," he concluded. "We will continue to cover it for you here on the ground, but it is only set to get worse."

Hall and his colleagues who are there are seeing the massive humanitarian disaster first-hand, interviewing witnesses and bringing the reality of it to the world. His correction of Gutfeld's bloviating wasn't just devastating, it was demonstrative.

Fox New Media’s effort to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by electronic voting company Smartmatic was rejected by a New York judge on Tuesday.

Judge David Cohen did, however, toss out claims against Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro, but did not dismiss those against host Maria Bartiromo and former host Lou Dobbs.

Some other claims against pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell, who was a guest on Fox News, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani were also dismissed by Cohen.

Smartmatic sued Fox News and the three hosts in New York State Supreme Court, seeking at least $2.7 billion in damages. The company claimed Giuliani and Powell “created a story about Smartmatic” regarding the 2020 presidential election and that “Fox joined the conspiracy to defame and disparage Smartmatic and its election technology and software.”

Cohen explained his ruling in a 61-page opinion:

Although the claims against Pirro were dismissed, it was still all bad news for the network and the named hosts. The judge even cited Tucker Carlson as evidence of "actual malice" on the subject.

Fox Media responded to the decision in a statement to Mediaite.

Smartmatic sued other outlets as well, including Newsmax and One America News Network.

Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica said in a November 2021 statement that the company took legal action against Newsmax and OAN because the damage to the firm “from this parallel universe of lies and disinformation has reverberated across the United States and in dozens of countries around the world.”