ALBAWABA- Dominion Voting Systems—an election technology company—has settled a historic $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against right-wing new agency Fox News.
The company alleges that people at Fox News acted with actual malice and "recklessly disregarded the truth" after the 2020 election. Dominion argues that its reputation was damaged when Fox repeatedly aired falsehoods about its voting machines. Fox claims that it had merely reported on newsworthy allegations that were coming from former president Donald Trump and that it was protected in doing so by the First Amendment of the US constitution.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said on Tuesday that a settlement was reached between the parties for $787.5 million.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); -->Dominion's chief executive, John Poulos, called the settlement historic. "Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion," he said.
Critics of Fox News had hoped for a longer trial to hear if the agency believed election fraud claims. With a settlement, the public will not see Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox Corporation, testify in open court.
A statement by Fox Corporation reads: “We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be 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, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."
