Written by: Chiara Espinal
Edited by: Michael Shalonov
Dominion Voting Systems – a company that manufactures and sells voting hardware and software – has brought a defamation lawsuit against Fox Corporation (FOXA.O) and Fox News for the network’s alleged “false vote-rigging claims” in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a staggering $1.6 billion in damages due to the network’s handling of voting-related issues. Dominion originally filed a suit against Fox Corporation back in 2021 under the claim that Fox News had tarnished Dominion’s reputation by airing false claims by Republican former President Donald Trump and his lawyers, “claiming that the Denver-based company’s voting machines were being used to rig the outcome of the election against him and in favor of Democrat Joe Biden” (Reuters).
Opening statements are anticipated to begin on Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, and Delaware Superior Court Judge, Eric Davis, has reportedly begun selecting members of the jury as recently as Thursday, April 13th. The trial will likely provide clarity on the “inner workings of one of the biggest U.S. cable networks, known for its conservative commentators” (Reuters). What exactly will this suit mean for Fox News in the long run?
From Dominion’s standpoint, company lawyers have the burden of proof in terms of demonstrating that producers and show hosts – including top Fox executives – knowingly falsified claims and yet continued to host guests who backed these claims. Dominion claims that Fox News executives invited controversial guests out of fear of the loss of viewership, specifically in regards to competition from other right-wing media outlets like One America News (OAN) and The Hill that often “embraced the conspiracy theories” (Reuters). According to Reuters, Dominion cited “troves of internal Fox communications that it said proved the network knowingly spread falsehoods or recklessly disregarded the truth.”
Fox News has remained grounded in the claim that Dominion “cherry-picked” evidence to misconstrue the network’s coverage choices, which Fox referred to as ‘reasonable’ in light of the so-called “newsworthy” election-rigging allegations. Fox reportedly asserted that it gave Dominion’s portrayal of events by airing its denials of any involvement in rigged voting. Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch and CEO Suzanne Scott are expected to take the witness stand. The trial itself will likely also see testimonies from conservative-leaning Fox hosts like Tucker Carlon and Jeanine Pirro.
The trial is anticipated to last anywhere from 5-6 weeks, however, experts suspect that a settlement between the two parties is unlikely due to the suit’s long history and strong allegations. Dominion argued that Fox’s mishandling of election conspiracies has been deeply damaging to “American democracy” and insists that the network be “held accountable for crossing the line between journalism and the heedless pursuit of ratings” (Reuters). Fox has taken the opposite side, calling Dominion’s suit an attack on the “free press.”
[The views expressed in this article are those of the author and the author alone; they do not necessarily represent the views of all members of the RULR Editorial Board and Rutgers University]
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