In fact, the Fox News defamation case wasn’t as entertaining as Succession. On the first day of the trial, Fox settled with Dominion Voting Systems, heading into a trial that could have aired embarrassing revelations about the news giant. Dominion says the settlement included a $787 million payout — apparently enough to offset months of false claims about the 2020 presidential election.
If The New York Times reports, a Delaware judge announced the settlement after a morning of jury selection and just before opening attorney statements. The resignation means Fox Corporation won’t have to put some of its biggest names on the stand, including chairman Rupert Murdoch and Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Lordship revealed the payment during a press conference. “Money is responsibility and we got that from Fox today,” said Dominion attorney Stephen Shackleford, according to CNN reporter Oliver Darcy. Dominion had originally demanded $1.6 billion.
In a statement, Fox News Media admitted parts of Dominion’s accusations in vague terms. “We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems,” the company said. “We acknowledge the rulings of the Court finding that certain claims about Dominion are false. This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, rather than the bitterness of a divisive process, will allow the country to move forward with these issues.”
Full statement from Fox on Dominion settlement: pic.twitter.com/a98KlATBaH
— Herb Scribner (@HerbScribner) April 18, 2023
As alluded to by Fox, a judge had already ruled that Fox made false claims about Dominion’s role in the election, including that the company had attempted to secretly engineer the defeat of former President Donald Trump. Dominion had yet to settle that the statements were made with “actual malice”, a high bar that should show Fox knew the statements were false or seriously doubted them. While it’s hard to live up to the actual malice standard, it was widely believed that Fox was in a weak position. The case surfaced text messages reveal that Fox News stars like Carlson were ambivalent about promoting Trump’s election lies, and right before the trial, they were penalized for withholding evidence.
Fox is still facing a lawsuit from another election technology company, Smartmatic. And in a statement to Semaphore editor-in-chief Ben Smith, Smartmatic indicated to continue the battle with Fox. “Dominion’s lawsuit has exposed some of the misconduct and harm caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will reveal the rest,” said attorney Erik Connolly, according to Smith’s Twitter feed. “Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, making amends for significant damage to the company and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.”
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