Fox News Settles Lawsuit Over Election Fraud Claims
Fox News, the most-watched cable news network in the United States, has reached a massive $788 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, a company that makes voting machines and software, over a defamation lawsuit that accused the network of spreading false and damaging allegations about the 2020 presidential election.
The lawsuit, which was filed in March 2021 in Delaware Superior Court, claimed that Fox News and some of its prominent hosts and guests, such as Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs and Sidney Powell, knowingly aired and amplified baseless claims that Dominion rigged the election in favour of Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate and the current president.
The settlement is one of the largest ever paid by a media company and a stunning blow to Fox News, which has faced criticism and boycotts from some of its conservative viewers for acknowledging Biden’s victory after the Electoral College certified the results in December 2020.
Dominion said in a statement on Monday that it was “grateful” for the settlement and that it hoped it would “restore faith in America’s elections and deter those who would knowingly undermine them.” The company added that it would use the settlement funds to “support American elections” and “defend itself against other meritless lawsuits.”
Fox News said in a statement on Monday that it was “pleased” to resolve the matter and that it had “always taken our commitment to objective and fair journalism seriously.” The network also said that it would continue to cover “all sides” of the issues affecting the country and that it looked forward to “putting this matter behind us.”
The settlement comes as Fox News faces increasing competition from other right-wing outlets, such as Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN), which have gained popularity among former President Donald Trump’s supporters. These outlets have been more willing to embrace Trump’s false and unsubstantiated claims that the election was stolen from him through widespread fraud and corruption.
Fox News also faces another defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting technology company, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages. That case, which was filed in February 2021 in New York Supreme Court, alleges that Fox News and some of its hosts and guests made false and defamatory statements about Smartmatic’s role and performance in the 2020 election. That case is still pending.
The lawsuits are part of a broader legal fallout from the 2020 election, which Trump and his allies have repeatedly and baselessly claimed was stolen from him. Several judges, election officials and cybersecurity experts have rejected those claims and affirmed the integrity and accuracy of the election results.
The Justice Department and several state attorneys general are also investigating whether Trump and his associates violated any laws in their efforts to overturn the election. Some of those investigations have resulted in criminal charges against some of Trump’s former advisers.
