Fox News has reached a $787 million settlement with election technology company Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the network of defamation in its coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Tuesday’s eleventh-hour deal — reached when opening statements were expected to begin — means the conservative news network will avoid a high-profile trial.
Court records have already revealed embarrassing behind-the-scenes conversations about how Fox News reported on former US President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the election was marred by widespread fraud.
Dominion filed its lawsuit in 2021, alleging that Fox News knowingly broadcast untruths about its voting machines in an effort to boost the lagging viewership. Trump and his allies had alleged that Dominion’s voting machines were used to rig the 2020 election, resulting in his loss to Joe Biden.
Fox has maintained that it only reported on Trump’s allegations, did not support them, and that its reporting was protected by constitutional freedom of speech. That protection typically makes it difficult for plaintiffs to win defamation suits in the country.
“The parties have resolved their case,” Judge Eric Davis told the Delaware Superior Court on Tuesday, informing the newly selected 12-member jury that it was free to go.
Dominion released the settlement figure on Tuesday, and CEO John Poulos said Fox had admitted to lying about his company.
Dominion attorney Justin Nelson said the settlement “represents justification and accountability” and that “lies have consequences.” Dominion lawyers declined to answer questions about whether Fox News would publicly apologize or make reforms.
In a statement, Fox said “we acknowledge” the court’s earlier ruling that certain claims the network’s anchors made about Dominion were 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, rather than the bitterness of a divisive process, will allow the country to move forward with these issues,” the statement said.
The settlement means that the network’s owner – conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch – and controversial personalities including Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity will avoid a long overdue testimonial.
During pre-trial hearings, Davis said it was clear Fox had aired false statements about Dominion in the aftermath of the election. To win at trial, however, Dominion would have had to prove that Fox News acted with actual malice – meaning it knew the information it was sharing was wrong or showed a “reckless disregard” for the truth.
Revelations from the pre-trial investigation have already embarrassed Fox, with some TV personalities and executives privately revealing that they are covering up Trump’s election-related claims, or expressing dislike for the former president, while denying the claims. seemed to support and praise him on the air.
A filing revealed that Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch described voter fraud claims made by Trump and his former advisers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell as “damaging” and “really crazy stuff.”
During a statement, Murdoch also admitted that some on-air hosts had “endorsed” the false claims, but he denied that the network as a whole had pushed the lie, court documents filed by Dominion showed.
Star anchor Tucker Carlson told staff he couldn’t wait until he could “ignore Trump most nights.”
“I hate him passionately,” Carlson said.
Much of the material showed a network concerned about losing its audience after declaring that Biden had won the critical swing state of Arizona on election night. That call enraged Trump and many viewers who supported him.
Noting the public’s anger, one of Fox’s top news anchors, Bret Baier, suggested that the call be withdrawn or even awarded the state to Trump.
“We don’t want to antagonize Trump any further,” Murdoch said in a Nov. 16 memo.
In court documents, Dominion argued, “Fox knew the truth… It knew the allegations against Dominion were ‘bizarre’ and ‘crazy’ and ‘ridiculous’ and ‘crazy’. Yet it used the power and influence of its platform to promote that false narrative.”
Meanwhile, Fox accused Dominion of “picking cherries and taking quotes out of context”.