Headline Roundup • April 19th, 2023
Fox News Settles Dominion Defamation Lawsuit, Agrees to Pay $787.5 Million
Media Industry,Fox News,Dominion Voting Systems,Defamation,2020 Election,Misinformation And Disinformation,Courts
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Fox News parent company Fox Corp and Dominion Voting Systems agreed to a $787.5 million settlement shortly before their court battle was set to begin on Tuesday.
Details: Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox Corp, alleging defamation related to claims of voter fraud and election interference made on the cable news network in the lead up to and following the 2020 presidential election. Dominion was seeking $1.6 billion in damages from Fox. In settling the case, Fox Corp agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion, roughly half the amount argued in the suit. The news network is still facing another defamation lawsuit relating to the 2020 election, this one from Smartmatic Inc., another voting technology company.
Key Quotes: Following the settlement announcement, Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson stated, “the truth matters. Lies have consequences. Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country.” A statement from Fox Corp read, “we are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”
How The Media Covered It: Left-rated outlets heavily covered the settlement announcement and all developments in the case prior. Right-rated outlets covered it mildly. Fox News (Right Bias) coverage of the settlement made no mention of the settlement amount and included no quotes from Dominion.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Getty Images
The bombshell $1.6 billion defamation trial of Fox News ended hours after it began as the cable news behemoth settled with Dominion Voting Systems Tuesday, just as opening arguments were set to begin.
The dramatic settlement spared Fox News’ 92-year-old founder, Rupert Murdoch, from taking the witness stand. Terms were not immediately disclosed. The deal in the Wilmington, Delaware, federal case came in the early afternoon, following the earlier selection of 12 jurors and a dozen alternates.
Dominion sued Fox and its parent company Fox Corporation, claiming it knowingly spread false...
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Fox News parent Fox Corp. and Dominion Voting Systems agreed to settle their closely watched legal battle, averting a trial on the voting-machine company’s allegations that it was defamed by network broadcasts after the 2020 presidential election.
A Delaware judge announced the settlement from the bench Tuesday afternoon without providing details.
Dominion alleged that Fox hosts and guests amplified false claims that its voting technology helped rig the election for Joe Biden. The company sought $1.6 billion in damages. Fox argued that it was covering newsworthy claims by associates of...
John Taggart for The New York Times
The judge in the Fox News defamation case said on Tuesday that the case was resolved, abruptly ending a long-running dispute over misinformation in the 2020 election just as a highly anticipated trial was about to begin.
It was a last-minute end to a case that began two years ago and after the disclosure of hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that peeled back the curtain on a media company that has long resisted outside scrutiny. The settlement included a $787.5 million payment from Fox, according to Justin Nelson,...
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