The boss of voice technology company Dominion today hailed the record-breaking $787.5 million in Fox News defamation as a “major step forward in democracy.”
said John Poulos Good morning America it was important for the political system to “send a signal that if media companies lie … and they knowingly do so, they will be willing to pay a very, very high price.”
Fox settled Tuesday at the 11th hour after Dominion alleged the conservative network knowingly broadcast false claims that its machines were being used to rig the 2020 presidential election.
The agreement to close the case avoided what most experts suggested would have been a damaging, high-profile process for the channel in which owner Rupert Murdoch and prime-time stars like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity would have been forced to testify in open court.
Now Dominion is marching on with lawsuits against the right-wing network Newsmax and Trump allies Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell.
John Poulos told Good Morning America that it was important for the political system to “send a signal that if media companies lie … and they do it knowingly, they will be willing to pay a very, very high price”
Rupert Murdoch did not have to testify in open court on Tuesday after settling for more than $780 million on Tuesday
Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro and other on-air stars were dropped in the case last year
Meanwhile, Fox stares down the course of a $2.7 billion lawsuit from another voice technology company, Smartmatic, over its reporting of debunked claims of voter fraud. Legal experts suggested that the settlement with Dominion would hand Smartmatic a “negotiation chip.”
Referring to the Fox case, Poulos told GMA, “It’s a fact [Fox] published untruths about us and it wasn’t just once or twice, it wasn’t just one day or two days, it was 20 statements over two and a half months.
“This was not the case with a media company that pursues the truth and makes a mistake. They knew.’
Judge Eric Davis announced the last-minute agreement after the 12 jurors were selected and the Delaware Superior Court was ready to hear opening arguments.
Fox News said in a statement that it was “pleased” that the dispute had ended, adding, “We recognize the court’s rulings finding that certain claims about Dominion are false.”
Knoxville media law professor Stuart Brotman warned today that the settlement was a boon to Smartmatic, which alleges Fox knowingly spread false claims that its software was being used to flip votes. Conspiracy theorists falsely claimed that Dominion was owned by Smartmatic, and the companies made similar allegations in their lawsuits.
“Smartmatic now has a bargaining chip and Fox has shown that it’s willing to grab its checkbook and write a big check,” Brotman said. “From Fox’s point of view, now that they realize they can get a successful settlement, they have a basis for a real discussion with Smartmatic.”
Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly said in a statement Tuesday that the company is determined to clear its name, reclaim the damage it has done and “hold Fox accountable for undermining democracy.”
Jeanine Pirro interviews Trump attorney Sidney Powell, who is also being sued by Dominion in a separate lawsuit. They were photographed on November 14, 2020
The lawsuit also denounces the network for allowing on-air guests like former New York mayor and Trump cohort Rudy Giuliani and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to spread voter fraud conspiracy theories unchallenged and unchecked.
Fox denies the allegations, saying in a recent statement that the network had the right to report highly newsworthy allegations of voter fraud. It has also called Smartmatic’s claims “outrageous, unsubstantiated and not rooted in sound financial analysis.”
Fox recently suffered a setback in the case after an appeals court declined to quash the case because Smartmatic alleged in “detailed fashion” how Fox “effectively endorsed and participated in defamation.”
Dominion boss Poulos told reporters outside court yesterday that Fox had “admitted to telling lies about Dominion that have caused tremendous damage to my company, our employees and our customers.” Nothing can ever make up for that.’
The proceedings, dubbed “the libel trial of the century” by the New York Times, were designed to test the limits of free speech for media in America when it deliberately broadcasts misinformation.
The agreement does not require Fox hosts to apologize on-air or admit to spreading untruths.
Dominion sued Fox News in March 2021 for $1.6 billion for promoting Donald Trump’s baseless claim that his machines were used to rig the presidential election he lost to Joe Biden.
Dominion argued that Fox broadcast the lies despite knowing they were untrue.
It said the network began to endorse Trump’s conspiracy as the channel lost viewers to smaller rivals after it became the first television channel to call the southwestern state of Arizona for Biden, effectively projecting the Democrat to win the presidency.
The trial is widely viewed as a test to see whether Fox’s reporting crossed the line between ethical journalism and the careless pursuit of ratings, as Dominion alleges and Fox denies.
Fox News denied defamation. It claimed it only reported on Trump’s allegations, did not support them, and was protected by the right to free speech enshrined in the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The protections make it difficult for plaintiffs to win defamation suits in the United States.
During pre-trial hearings, Davis ruled that there was no doubt that Fox was broadcasting false statements about Dominion.
However, for Dominion to win, it would have been necessary to prove that Fox News was acting with actual malice – knowing the information was wrong or having a “reckless disregard” for the truth.
The heavy burden has been the basis of US media law since 1964.
Dominion released a wealth of internal Fox News communications in which some commentators and executives contradicted Trump’s claims and even expressed distaste for the ex-president despite praising him on the air — evidence, it said, of malice.
A filing revealed that Murdoch described comments from former Trump advisers Giuliani and Powell describing Trump’s claim that the election was stolen from him as “really crazy stuff.” And harmful.’
Murdoch also admitted in a statement in the case that some on-air hosts “endorsed” the lie, but he denied that the network as a whole pushed it, according to court documents filed by Dominion.
Carlson told staff he couldn’t wait until he could “ignore Trump most nights,” adding, “I hate him passionately.”
Fox News accused Dominion of “picking cherries and taking quotes out of context.”
John Culhane, a professor at Widener University’s Delaware Law School, said high-profile Fox names defending themselves in court would have been far worse for the network than the settlement.
“The audio would have been replayed a thousand times forever,” he said.
Fox News has weathered several crises in recent years and last year was the most-watched cable news channel for the seventh year in a row, well ahead of competitors MSNBC and CNN.
It employs some traditional news reporters, but most of its airtime is devoted to conservative commentators, including on primetime shows.
“The network has been completely exposed as a partisan propaganda outlet willing to do anything for profit and power,” Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters’ advocacy group, said in response to the settlement.