In a last-minute settlement that spared Fox News from a trial in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit, the media company agreed to pay more than $787 million to the voting machine manufacturer (The Washington Post). Dominion Voting Systems had filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, accusing the broadcasting company of promoting conspiracies and lies about the company’s involvement in the presidential election. Dominion accused Fox News of knowingly pushing false conspiracy theories that the company was involved in fraudulent election practices (ABC News).
The lawsuit accused the media company of slandering Dominion by “recklessly” broadcasting nonsense on-air discussions that Dominion Voting Systems rigged the 2020 presidential election in former President Donald Trump’s favor. In the agreement, Fox News agreed to retract all its claims that Dominion was involved in election fraud and apologized for its earlier coverage (AP News).
According to Reuters, this is the first time that Dominion Voting Systems has won a lawsuit against a major news organization. The voting machine manufacturer said in a statement that the settlement in the defamation lawsuit was against “all the members of the media who fueled the false claims against us.”
The Dominion Voting lawsuit against Fox News had provided the voting machine manufacturer and the broadcasting company with a platform to present their sides of the story. One aspect that isn’t settling soon is that of the former Fox News producer, Hirstius, who indicated that she found more evidence relevant to the lawsuit (NBC News).
Despite settling the lawsuit, Fox News has suffered significant damage to its reputation. The news company had lost its audience due to its involvement in the defamation lawsuit (The Atlantic). The lawsuit has also raised questions about the responsibility of broadcasters concerning reporting on sensitive matters. It is expected that this lawsuit will serve as a precedent for future lawsuits accusing media companies of defamation (NPR).
In conclusion, the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox News has ended with a record-breaking settlement, which will potentially impact the media industry in the years to come.
