Fox News Dominion case: Rupert Murdoch son drops lawsuit against news site as Smartmatic eyes trial
Rupert Murdoch's son has suddenly dropped his lawsuit against Australian news site Crikey days after Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems a landmark settlement.
Lachlan Murdoch sued Crikey for defamation last August over a column titled: “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator.”
The suit was dropped on Friday, citing Fox News $787m settlement with Dominion over lies about the 2020 presidential election.
“Crikey has tried to introduce thousands of pages of documents from a defamation case in another jurisdiction, which has now settled,” the statement from Lachlan Murdoch’s legal team said.
“Mr Murdoch remains confident that the court would ultimately find in his favor, however he does not wish to further enable Crikey’s use of the court to litigate a case from another jurisdiction that has already been settled and facilitate a marketing campaign designed to attract subscribers and boost their profits.”
Media pundits are now speculating over the possible fallout from the defamation settlement, with Puck founder Dylan Byers sparking a Twitter frenzy with a column suggesting that Rupert Murdoch could even axe some of his hosts in response to the case.
The Independent has requested comment from Fox News addressing the speculation but there was no immediate change in the network’s programming schedule as of Thursday.
On Tuesday, Fox News reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit moments before opening arguments were about to get under way at trial.
Dominion sued Fox News for defamation, alleging that the network gave a platform to and failed to challenge conspiracy theorists that suggested Dominion was engaged in voter fraud during the 2020 election.
Those conspiracies reportedly damaged Dominion’s business and resulted in employees receiving threats from angry Fox News viewers.
In a last-minute deal, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion $787.5m to put the issue to bed.
Fox News has other legal troubles brewing with Smartmatic revealing what it will take for it to also settle its case against the network.
The voting technology company’s lawyer said on Thursday it won’t accept any settlement smaller than the same $787m payout and will demand a “full retraction” and “apology” from the network.
Key points
Fox News and Dominion settle defamation case
Dominion CEO: An ‘historic settlement'
‘We’re not done yet’
Fox News $787m payment in Dominion case is largest media settlement in US history
Who else is Fox News being sued by?
Wednesday 19 April 2023 10:30 , Rachel Sharp
The lawsuit between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News is far from the network’s only legal problems.
These are the other people and companies suing Rupert Murdoch’s empire over the 2020 election lies:
- Smartmatic
- Abby Grossberg
- Fox investors
- Crikey
Fox-Dominion $787m settlement is second largest in US history
Wednesday 19 April 2023 11:00 , Bevan Hurley
The $787.5m settlement in the Fox News defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Machines is the second largest award in US history.
Last year, a Connecticut jury ordered Alex Jones to pay $965m to the parents of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting for spreading bogus claims that they were crisis actors.
Trump silent on Fox News Dominion settlement
Wednesday 19 April 2023 11:30 , Rachel Sharp
Donald Trump has remained silent on the settlement reached between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems.
The former president is yet to comment on the news – despite the lawsuit being directly related to his election lies.
On Monday, Mr Trump had suggested Fox News should stand by his election fraud lies to weaken Dominion Voting System’s arguments in the case.
“If Fox would finally admit that there was large scale cheating & irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, which would be a good thing for them, & for America, the case against them, which should not have existed at all, would be greatly weakened,” he had claimed.
“Back up those patriots at Fox instead of throwing them under the bus - & they are right! There is sooo much proof, like mass ballot stuffing caught on government cameras, FBI colluding with Twitter & Facebook, state legislatures not used, etc.”
Fox News said it was ‘pleased’ with the $787.5m settlement
Wednesday 19 April 2023 12:00 , Bevan Hurley
In a statement, Fox News said: “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.”
With the settlement, Fox News has admitted to knowingly spreading false claims about the voting machine company in the afermath of the 2020 presidential election.
However, the hosts responsible for making the claims appear unlikely to have to do so on-air.
CNN’s Oliver Darcy said that the terms of the $787.5m settlement did not include any requirement for Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity to address the 2020 election lies they helped to spread.
Who else is Dominion suing over election lies?
Wednesday 19 April 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp
The lawsuit between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News is far from the only one being pursued by the voting systems company over the 2020 election lies.
These are the other people and companies still being sued by Dominion:
- Sidney Powell
- Rudy Giuliani
- Mike Lindell
- OAN
- Newsmax
- Patrick Byrne
Fox News and Dominion reach shock settlement in blockbuster defamation lawsuit moments before trial
Wednesday 19 April 2023 13:00 , Bevan Hurley
Moments before opening arguments in one of the biggest defamation trials in US history were set to begin, Fox News agreed to settle a lawsuit from a voting machine company that accused the network of spreading false statements about its business in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
Alex Woodward has the full story.
Dominion wins $787m from Fox as election lies lawsuit settled
WATCH: CNN anchor laughs as he reports on $787.5m Fox News and Dominion settlement
Wednesday 19 April 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp
Former Fox News producer slams network’s ‘abhorrent culture of lawlessness’ after settlement
Wednesday 19 April 2023 14:00 , Josh Marcus
Fox News may have avoided a bruising defamation trial with its recently announced settlement of the Dominion lawsuit, but the knives are still out for the conservative network.
Following the announcement, attorneys for Abby Grossberg, a former Fox News producer involved in the case, said the settlement was indicative of a larger culture of “lawlessness” at the network.“While we congratulate Dominion on a truly precedent setting settlement, we cannot help but be reminded of how Fox News’s penchant for paying out notoriously large settlements to resolve lawsuits exposing its unlawful conduct – whether it’s troubling allegations of workplace discrimination and sexual harassment and misconduct, to accusations of spreading malicious lies – have unfortunately, to date, failed to bring about actual meaningful changes to the network’s abhorrent culture of lawlessness,” the lawyers told The Independent in a statement.
“Fortunately, our client, Abby Grossberg, remains committed as ever to obtaining vindication of Fox News’s violations of not just her rights but the rights of others whose voices have been silenced or who fear retribution for exposing the truth, through her two lawsuits against Fox,” the statement added.
Ms Grossberg was fired from the network in March, after claiming Fox coerced her into giving misleading testimony in the defamation action. (Fox News claims she was let go for divulging privileged information.)
Fox-Dominion $787m settlement is second largest in US history
Wednesday 19 April 2023 14:30 , Josh Marcus
The $787.5m settlement in the Fox News defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Machines is the second largest award in US history.
Last year, a Connecticut jury ordered Alex Jones to pay $965m to the parents of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting for spreading bogus claims that they were crisis actors.
Dominion CEO breaks silence on $787.5m settlement with Fox News
Wednesday 19 April 2023 15:00 , Bevan Hurley
Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos highlighted the importance of truth when speaking about the $787.5m defamation settlement with Fox News.
Mr Poulos spoke with Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday, just one day after Fox News and Dominion settled the months-long battle about false statements the media organisation aired regarding election fraud in 2020.
“We weren’t ready to settle until all of the facts that we had discovered had come to light in the public, that was something that we had committed to from the beginning,” Mr Poulos said about the settlement.
Adriana Baio has the story.
Dominion CEO breaks silence on $787.5m settlement with Fox News
Murdoch’s mega Fox payout shows there’s one thing you can’t afford to mess with…
Wednesday 19 April 2023 15:30 , Bevan Hurley
The Independent’s Sean O’Grady writes:
“The truth matters. Lies have consequences”. The lawyer for Dominion Voting Systems put it better than any of Rupert Murdoch’s mercenary army of journalists ever would; or, indeed ever be permitted attempt to do so (the sensational story doesn’t figure much on his channels or in his titles). And it is about time that someone, somewhere, decided “enough already with the fake news”.
Without wishing to come over as sanctimonious – we journalists are all of us flawed – the humiliation of Fox News at the hands of Dominion, a hitherto obscure election machinery company, is a victory for truth.
It’s not as simple as that – because no defamation case of this magnitude can be – but the world is now just a little better off, a little safer, a little more protected from the abuse of media power than it was before Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News decided to cave in to Dominion.
The Fox payout shows there’s one thing you can’t afford to mess with…
Watch: Jake Tapper can’t keep a straight face
Wednesday 19 April 2023 16:00 , Bevan Hurley
CNN anchor laughs as he reports on $787.5m Fox News and Dominion settlement
Trump’s election lies cost Fox $787m – will they also cost him the White House in 2024?
Wednesday 19 April 2023 16:30 , Bevan Hurley
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg writes:
For a good portion of the network’s quarter-century on the air, Fox News went by the mantra of “we report, you decide”.
But after the network wholeheartedly embraced Donald Trump in 2016, the reporting became optional because their viewers had already decided.
They decided to believe whatever Trump told them. And when they heard something that contradicted that, they looked elsewhere for more comforting lies.
Two years later, Fox’s audience has remained loyal to Trump, but the twice-impeached ex-president’s lies are still exacting a cost.
Some of that cost may yet to be extracted from Fox’s bottom line.
Another voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, still has a multi-billion dollar lawsuit pending against Fox for many of the same lies that pushed Rupert Murdoch and his organisation to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to get Dominion to drop their case.
But it may be Mr Trump who ultimately pays the highest price.
Trump’s election lies cost Fox $787m – will they also cost him 2024?
Trump remains silent on Fox’s Dominion lawsuit settlement
Wednesday 19 April 2023 17:00 , Bevan Hurley
Former president Donald Trump’s social media output in the hours since Fox News reached a $787m settlement with Dominion Voting Systems has included numerous posts promoting a series of digital trading cards he is selling, attacks on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and bizarre complaints about Elon Musk and alleged censorship on Twitter (where Mr Trump’s account has gone unused since it was restored earlier this year).
But Mr Trump has not weighed in on Fox’s decision to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to Dominion rather than allow a Delaware jury to determine how much the right-wing network should pay for broadcasting repeated lies about the company’s products rather than report the truth because it was upsetting their audience.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Trump remains silent on Fox’s Dominion lawsuit settlement
Stephen Colbert shares frustration at Fox-Dominion settlement: ‘Damn it! I want my trial!’
Wednesday 19 April 2023 17:30 , Bevan Hurley
Stephen Colbert could barely contain his laughter as he discussed the news that Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion for $787.5m.
“Damnit! I want my trial! I want it!” he shouted. “I wanted to see Rupert Murdoch put his hand on the Bible and burst into flames.
“I guess it’s satisfying for Dominion that Rup-y had to fork over a pile of cash, but that does nothing for our democracy.”
Isobel Lewis has the full story.
Stephen Colbert shares frustration at Fox-Dominion settlement
Fox News won’t apologise on air for false election claims under $787m Dominion settlement
Wednesday 19 April 2023 18:00 , Bevan Hurley
Despite the $787.5m settlement, there will be no retractions or on-air apologies on Fox, a source with knowledge of the agreement told The Independent.
Josh Marcus has the details.
Fox News won’t apologise on air under $787m Dominion settlement
Fox Dominion payout becomes largest media settlement in history
Wednesday 19 April 2023 18:30 , Bevan Hurley
The settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems has become the largest publicly known payout ever struck by an American media company.
Fox Corp and Fox News on Tuesday settled a defamation lawsuit slapped against it by Dominion by agreeing to pay $787.5m to the voting equipment company.
Sweta Sharma has the full story.
Fox Dominion payout becomes largest media settlement in history
Fox News finally covers the Dominion trial, fails to mention how much they’re paying to make it go away
Wednesday 19 April 2023 19:00 , Bevan Hurley
Fox News has had very little to say about Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation lawsuit for nearly the entirety of its existence, but finally deemed the story worth covering on Tuesday when it announced the parties had settled.
In Fox News’ story — which comes in at 256 words, approximately 70 of which are a block quote from a Fox spokesman— we do not learn why the company was sued, just that it was broadly sued for defamation. We also do not learn how much it cost the network to make the trial go away.
(It was $787.5m, in case you missed it.)
Graig Graziosi has the story.
Fox News finally covers the Dominion trial, and it is embarrassing
Don’t be disappointed by the Fox News vs Dominion outcome – this is just the start
Wednesday 19 April 2023 19:30 , Bevan Hurley
Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent:
To the general disappointment of progressive observers, Fox settled its lawsuit with Dominion voting systems just before the trial’s opening arguments were slated to begin.
I, along with plenty of others, had been hoping for a full trial. We wanted to see Fox anchors like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity testify in open court under oath that they had lied to their viewers about the election, insisting that the vote was rigged against Donald Trump when they knew it was not.
Fox was desperate to avoid that, and with a $787.5 million settlement – the biggest libel payout in American history – they did.
A long trial underlining the perfidy and recklessness of right-wing media would have been a healthy outcome for democracy, and could have even undermined Fox’s reputation with some of its fanbase.
But it’s important to acknowledge that the lawsuit does provide some accountability, and, just as important, it makes future coup attempts or assaults on democracy more difficult. We know from discovery that Fox carefully weighed incentives and financial consequences before pushing election lies. This payout changes those incentives for the future. That’s a good thing.
Don’t be disappointed by the Fox v Dominion outcome – this is just the start | Voices
The Dominion lawsuit is far from Fox News’s only legal headache
Wednesday 19 April 2023 20:00 , Bevan Hurley
Fox News declared it was “pleased” to have paid out $787.5m to Dominion Voting Systems and avoided a grueling six-week courtroom examination of its shoddy journalistic practices.
Yet the measured celebration in Fox’s statement after paying out the second largest defamation award in US history may be short-lived.
However, the thousands of emails, texts and private documents unearthed during Dominion’s discovery process have pried open Fox’s internal decision-making process, and the willingness of its anchors and executives to lie for the sake of ratings, like never before.
Fox News has settled with Dominion, but the network has many other legal problems
The veteran mediator who negotiated the Fox-Dominion settlement
Wednesday 19 April 2023 20:24 , Bevan Hurley
CNN has a new behind-the-scenes account of how the historic $787.5m settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems came about.
Litigator Jerry Roscoe told the network he took an urgent call while on a European river cruise celebrating his 70th birthday on Sunday asking if he would mediate a deal between the two parties.
The lead attorneys had been “really far apart” on a settlement figure, Mr Roscoe said.
But after an intensive 24-hour period of “shuttle diplomacy” involving phone calls and Zoom meetings, Mr Roscoe had negotiated the largest known defamation payout against a media organisation in US history.
According to a business profile, Mr Roscoe has over 30 years experience resolving complex commercial, healthcare, employment, and environmental disputes.
Murdoch’s mega Fox payout shows there’s one thing you can’t afford to mess with…
Wednesday 19 April 2023 20:30 , Bevan Hurley
The Independent’s Sean O’Grady writes:
“The truth matters. Lies have consequences”. The lawyer for Dominion Voting Systems put it better than any of Rupert Murdoch’s mercenary army of journalists ever would; or, indeed ever be permitted attempt to do so (the sensational story doesn’t figure much on his channels or in his titles). And it is about time that someone, somewhere, decided “enough already with the fake news”.
Without wishing to come over as sanctimonious – we journalists are all of us flawed – the humiliation of Fox News at the hands of Dominion, a hitherto obscure election machinery company, is a victory for truth.
It’s not as simple as that – because no defamation case of this magnitude can be – but the world is now just a little better off, a little safer, a little more protected from the abuse of media power than it was before Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News decided to cave in to Dominion.
The Fox payout shows there’s one thing you can’t afford to mess with…
How the front pages covered the Fox News settlement
Wednesday 19 April 2023 20:45 , Bevan Hurley
The $787.5m defamation payout by Fox News was above the fold on the front pages of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
“Massive payout” — front pages cover the Fox-Dominion settlement pic.twitter.com/wvlfFuvQT1
— Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) April 19, 2023
How the almost-trial of Dominion v Fox exploded into a Succession-worthy finale
Wednesday 19 April 2023 21:00 , Bevan Hurley
Mountains of evidence boxes were wheeled into a seventh-floor courtroom on Tuesday morning, moments before lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems planned to eviscerate Fox News and its Fox Corporation leadership for the volley of false claims about the company in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Later that morning, jurors were sworn in. They ordered lunch. Hours later, it was over. And Fox News admitted that statements on its airwaves about Dominion were false, agreeing to pay the voting machine company more than $787m in a settlement that averted one of the biggest-ever defamation trials in American history.
Alex Woodward on the made-for-TV courtroom drama that would never be televised.
The Succession-worthy finale of the Dominion v Fox nearly-trial
Everyone who is being sued by Dominion over election lies
Wednesday 19 April 2023 21:30 , Bevan Hurley
Dominion Voting Systems agreed to settle its defamation lawsuit with Fox News for $787.5m on Tuesday — but its legal battles are far from over.
While the Fox News case attracted most of the headlines, Dominion filed a swathe of defamation suits against right-wing networks, lawyers and media personalities in the months after the 2020 election.
Here’s everyone who is being sued by Dominion.
From Rudy Giuliani to Newsmax, everyone Dominion is suing for election lies
Tucker Carlson laughs at people being laid off in Elon Musk interview
Wednesday 19 April 2023 21:44 , Bevan Hurley
Fox News host Tucker Carlson cracked a smile as he listened to Elon Musk describe slashing 80 per cent of Twitter’s employees after taking over.
“Turns out you don’t need all that many people to run Twitter,” Mr Musk said. “If you’re not trying to run some kind of glorified activist organisation, and you’re not caring that much about censorship, you can really let go of a lot of people it turns out.”
Josh Marcus has the full story.
Tucker Carlson laughs at people being laid off in Elon Musk interview
Jake Tapper struggles to keep a straight face as he reads Fox reaction to Dominion victory
Wednesday 19 April 2023 22:00 , Bevan Hurley
CNN anchor Jake Tapper couldn’t help but chuckle on Tuesday as he announced the news that Fox News averted a bruising defamation trial over false election claims by paying a $787.5m (£633m) settlement to voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems.
The host hesitated multiple times as he read a statement from Fox News, which framed the settlement as a sign of “Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards” and a move which “allows the country to move forward from these issues.”
Tapper, for his part, told viewers the settlement “can only be interpreted as one of the ugliest and most embarrassing moments in the history of journalism”.
CNN’s Jake Tapper laughs as he reads Fox reaction to Dominion settlement
Fox News acknowledges $787.5m settlement for first time
Wednesday 19 April 2023 22:15 , Bevan Hurley
In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, Fox Corporation has acknowledged for the first time the massive $787.5m settlement payout to Dominion Voting Systems.
The filing included a statement issued by Fox after the last-minute deal was reached on Tuesday, and was signed by the public company’s chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh.
Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, noted on Twitter that Fox Corporation had previously said in an SEC quarterly filing in February that it did not anticipate that the Dominion defamation lawsuit “will have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.”
The Dominion lawsuit is far from Fox News’s only legal headache
Wednesday 19 April 2023 22:30 , Bevan Hurley
Fox News declared it was “pleased” to have paid out $787.5m to Dominion Voting Systems and avoided a grueling six-week courtroom examination of its shoddy journalistic practices.
Yet the measured celebration in Fox’s statement after paying out the second largest defamation award in US history may be short-lived.
The thousands of emails, texts and private documents unearthed during Dominion’s discovery process have pried open Fox’s internal decision-making process, and the willingness of its anchors and executives to lie for the sake of ratings, like never before.
Fox News has settled with Dominion, but the network has many other legal problems
Stephen Colbert shares frustration at Fox-Dominion settlement: ‘Damn it! I want my trial!’
Wednesday 19 April 2023 23:00 , Bevan Hurley
Stephen Colbert could barely contain his laughter as he discussed the news that Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion for $787.5m.
“Damnit! I want my trial! I want it!” he shouted. “I wanted to see Rupert Murdoch put his hand on the Bible and burst into flames.
“I guess it’s satisfying for Dominion that Rup-y had to fork over a pile of cash, but that does nothing for our democracy.”
Isobel Lewis has the full story.
Stephen Colbert shares frustration at Fox-Dominion settlement
Don’t be disappointed by the Fox News vs Dominion outcome – this is just the start
Wednesday 19 April 2023 23:30 , Bevan Hurley
Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent:
To the general disappointment of progressive observers, Fox settled its lawsuit with Dominion voting systems just before the trial’s opening arguments were slated to begin.
I, along with plenty of others, had been hoping for a full trial. We wanted to see Fox anchors like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity testify in open court under oath that they had lied to their viewers about the election, insisting that the vote was rigged against Donald Trump when they knew it was not.
Fox was desperate to avoid that, and with a $787.5 million settlement – the biggest libel payout in American history – they did.
A long trial underlining the perfidy and recklessness of right-wing media would have been a healthy outcome for democracy, and could have even undermined Fox’s reputation with some of its fanbase.
But it’s important to acknowledge that the lawsuit does provide some accountability, and, just as important, it makes future coup attempts or assaults on democracy more difficult. We know from discovery that Fox carefully weighed incentives and financial consequences before pushing election lies. This payout changes those incentives for the future. That’s a good thing.
Don’t be disappointed by the Fox v Dominion outcome – this is just the start | Voices
How the almost-trial of Dominion v Fox exploded into a Succession-worthy finale
Thursday 20 April 2023 00:00 , Bevan Hurley
Mountains of evidence boxes were wheeled into a seventh-floor courtroom on Tuesday morning, moments before lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems planned to eviscerate Fox News and its Fox Corporation leadership for the volley of false claims about the company in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Later that morning, jurors were sworn in. They ordered lunch. Hours later, it was over. And Fox News admitted that statements on its airwaves about Dominion were false, agreeing to pay the voting machine company more than $787m in a settlement that averted one of the biggest-ever defamation trials in American history.
Alex Woodward on the made-for-TV courtroom drama that would never be televised.
The Succession-worthy finale of the Dominion v Fox nearly-trial
Everyone who is being sued by Dominion over election lies
Thursday 20 April 2023 00:30 , Bevan Hurley
Dominion Voting Systems agreed to settle its defamation lawsuit with Fox News for $787.5m on Tuesday — but its legal battles are far from over.
While the Fox News case attracted most of the headlines, Dominion filed a swathe of defamation suits against right-wing networks, lawyers and media personalities in the months after the 2020 election.
Here’s everyone who is being sued by Dominion.
Fox News has settled with Dominion, but the network has many other legal problems
The veteran mediator who negotiated the Fox-Dominion settlement
Thursday 20 April 2023 01:00 , Bevan Hurley
CNN has a new behind-the-scenes account of how the historic $787.5m settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems came about.
Litigator Jerry Roscoe told the network he took an urgent call while on a European river cruise celebrating his 70th birthday on Sunday asking if he would mediate a deal between the two parties.
The lead attorneys had been “really far apart” on a settlement figure, Mr Roscoe said.
But after an intensive 24-hour period of “shuttle diplomacy” involving phone calls and Zoom meetings, Mr Roscoe had negotiated the largest known defamation payout against a media organisation in US history.
According to a business profile, Mr Roscoe has over 30 years experience resolving complex commercial, healthcare, employment, and environmental disputes.
Trump remains silent on Fox’s Dominion lawsuit settlement
Thursday 20 April 2023 01:30 , Bevan Hurley
Former president Donald Trump’s social media output in the hours since Fox News reached a $787m settlement with Dominion Voting Systems has included numerous posts promoting a series of digital trading cards he is selling, attacks on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and bizarre complaints about Elon Musk and alleged censorship on Twitter (where Mr Trump’s account has gone unused since it was restored earlier this year).
But Mr Trump has not weighed in on Fox’s decision to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to Dominion rather than allow a Delaware jury to determine how much the right-wing network should pay for broadcasting repeated lies about the company’s products rather than report the truth because it was upsetting their audience.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Trump remains silent on Fox’s Dominion lawsuit settlement
Murdoch’s mega Fox payout shows there’s one thing you can’t afford to mess with…
Thursday 20 April 2023 02:00 , Bevan Hurley
The Independent’s Sean O’Grady writes:
“The truth matters. Lies have consequences”. The lawyer for Dominion Voting Systems put it better than any of Rupert Murdoch’s mercenary army of journalists ever would; or, indeed ever be permitted attempt to do so (the sensational story doesn’t figure much on his channels or in his titles). And it is about time that someone, somewhere, decided “enough already with the fake news”.
Without wishing to come over as sanctimonious – we journalists are all of us flawed – the humiliation of Fox News at the hands of Dominion, a hitherto obscure election machinery company, is a victory for truth.
It’s not as simple as that – because no defamation case of this magnitude can be – but the world is now just a little better off, a little safer, a little more protected from the abuse of media power than it was before Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News decided to cave in to Dominion.
The Fox payout shows there’s one thing you can’t afford to mess with…
Fox News finally covers the Dominion trial, fails to mention how much they’re paying to make it go away
Thursday 20 April 2023 03:00 , Bevan Hurley
Fox News has had very little to say about Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation lawsuit for nearly the entirety of its existence, but finally deemed the story worth covering on Tuesday when it announced the parties had settled.
In Fox News’ story — which comes in at 256 words, approximately 70 of which are a block quote from a Fox spokesman— we do not learn why the company was sued, just that it was broadly sued for defamation. We also do not learn how much it cost the network to make the trial go away.
(It was $787.5m, in case you missed it.)
Graig Graziosi has the story.
Fox News finally covers the Dominion trial, and it is embarrassing
Trump’s election lies cost Fox $787m – will they also cost him the White House in 2024?
Thursday 20 April 2023 04:00 , Bevan Hurley
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg writes:
For a good portion of the network’s quarter-century on the air, Fox News went by the mantra of “we report, you decide”.
But after the network wholeheartedly embraced Donald Trump in 2016, the reporting became optional because their viewers had already decided.
They decided to believe whatever Trump told them. And when they heard something that contradicted that, they looked elsewhere for more comforting lies.
Two years later, Fox’s audience has remained loyal to Trump, but the twice-impeached ex-president’s lies are still exacting a cost.
Some of that cost may yet to be extracted from Fox’s bottom line.
Another voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, still has a multi-billion dollar lawsuit pending against Fox for many of the same lies that pushed Rupert Murdoch and his organisation to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to get Dominion to drop their case.
But it may be Mr Trump who ultimately pays the highest price.
Trump’s election lies cost Fox $787m – will they also cost him 2024?
Stephen Colbert shares frustration at Fox-Dominion settlement: ‘Damn it! I want my trial!’
Thursday 20 April 2023 05:00 , Bevan Hurley
Stephen Colbert could barely contain his laughter as he discussed the news that Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion for $787.5m.
“Damnit! I want my trial! I want it!” he shouted. “I wanted to see Rupert Murdoch put his hand on the Bible and burst into flames.
“I guess it’s satisfying for Dominion that Rup-y had to fork over a pile of cash, but that does nothing for our democracy.”
Isobel Lewis has the full story.
Stephen Colbert shares frustration at Fox-Dominion settlement
Vacationing mediator swooped in last minute in ‘imminent’ trial - report
Thursday 20 April 2023 05:30 , Shweta Sharma
Up until 9am on Tuesday the prospect of a Fox News-Dominion trial seemed imminent, after both parties failed to hammer out a deal over the weekend.
An email was sent to longtime mediator Jerry Roscoe, who was vacationing in Europe, and ended up reading thousands of pages of documents, preparing to commission calls with lawyers for both sides, reported the Washington Post.
“The parties weren’t too optimistic that it was going to resolve,” he said.
Mr Roscoe conducted around 50 calls on both sides and he realised that Dominion’s monetary demand was not the only issue that was coming in the way of mediation – there were also divisions over the language that Fox would release in the statement.
“Both sides had good lawyers and wanted to see if they could resolve the case,” he said. “But I wasn’t sure we would resolve it until it was actually resolved.”
After the settlement was announced on Tuesday, Mr Roscoe said. “There was just a sense of relief and accomplishment.”
Even though Fox News’ final statement did not issue an apology Dominion said that the sheer size of the settlement was enough and it meant that Dominion held Fox accountable.
Fox News acknowledges $787.5m settlement for first time
Thursday 20 April 2023 06:00 , Bevan Hurley
In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, Fox Corporation has acknowledged for the first time the massive $787.5m settlement payout to Dominion Voting Systems.
The filing included a statement issued by Fox after the last-minute deal was reached on Tuesday, and was signed by the public company’s chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh.
Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, noted on Twitter that Fox Corporation had previously said in an SEC quarterly filing in February that it did not anticipate that the Dominion defamation lawsuit “will have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.”
Fox Dominion payout becomes largest media settlement in history
Thursday 20 April 2023 06:30 , Shweta Sharma
The settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems has become the largest publicly known payout ever struck by an American media company.
Fox Corp and Fox News on Tuesday settled a defamation lawsuit slapped against it by Dominion by agreeing to pay $787.5m to the voting equipment company.
The last-second settlement was announced just hours after a jury was sworn in at the Delaware Superior Court in what could have been the most high-profile trial involving the US’s most-watched cable news network.
Fox Dominion payout becomes largest media settlement in history
Fox case just one front in Dominion's larger legal battle
Thursday 20 April 2023 07:30 , Shweta Sharma
Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox, which was settled with a huge payout of $787.5m, is part of a broader legal campaign by the company to seek accountability from companies and individuals whom it claims have spread falsehoods about its technology.
Mike Lindell
Dominion in February 2021 filed a $1.3bn suit against MyPillow Inc and its chief executive, election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, who falsely claimed that Dominion’s voting machines were used to rig the 2020 US presidential election. Mr Lindell has countersued Dominion.
Other conservative networks
Dominion in August 2021 separately sued two conservative media networks, One America News Network and Newsmax Media Inc, for making similar debunked claims about vote rigging.
The two suits each seek more than $1.6bn in damages.
Trump lawyers
Dominion also has lawsuits pending against former Trump lawyers, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, over the vote rigging claims.
Mr Powell has denied the allegations. Mr Giuliani previously called the lawsuit as another act of intimidation by the hate-filled left-wing to wipe out and censor the exercise of free speech, according to the New York Times.
Each suit against the lawyers seeks at least $1.3bn in damages.
Ex-Fox News host says network’s ‘greed and disinformation is a danger to democracy'
Thursday 20 April 2023 08:30 , Shweta Sharma
Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson blasted its former employer for valuing profits and ratings over truth and media integrity.
Speaking to CNN, Ms Carlson the Donald Trump-hating messaging revealed by Dominion in the lawsuit represents the “travesty” of the network.
“Because I think it’s actually a threat to American democracy to promote that kind of misinformation,” she said.
“Let me be clear. There is a huge difference between espousing conservative viewpoints and having an intellectual conversation between conservatives and liberals, which I think is very important — there’s a huge difference between that and telling lies to the American public, and that’s where we have now become in the evolution of Fox News, at least with regard to the 2020 election and January 6th.”
Last minute brinkmanship and overseas assist end Fox case
Thursday 20 April 2023 09:30 , Shweta Sharma
Before pulling back from the brink of a trial, Fox News and Dominion Voting systems faced a stern deadline — not from an impatient judge or jury, but from a man on a Danube River cruise with his wife half a world away.
A mediator hired late Sunday pushed the two sides toward a $787 million settlement that brought a stunning end to the most-watched media libel case in decades, one that sought to put a price on lies told about the 2020 presidential election on conservative America‘s most popular news outlet.
“It’s a deadline that I always impose because I know that once a jury is empaneled and opening statements are made, then one or other of the parties will dig into their positions,” Jerry Roscoe, of the Washington-based JAMS mediation service, said Wednesday. “It makes negotiations much more difficult.”
Last minute brinkmanship and overseas assist end Fox case
How the almost-trial of Dominion v Fox exploded into a Succession-worthy finale
Thursday 20 April 2023 10:00 , Bevan Hurley
Mountains of evidence boxes were wheeled into a seventh-floor courtroom on Tuesday morning, moments before lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems planned to eviscerate Fox News and its Fox Corporation leadership for the volley of false claims about the company in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Later that morning, jurors were sworn in. They ordered lunch. Hours later, it was over. And Fox News admitted that statements on its airwaves about Dominion were false, agreeing to pay the voting machine company more than $787m in a settlement that averted one of the biggest-ever defamation trials in American history.
Alex Woodward on the made-for-TV courtroom drama that would never be televised.
The Succession-worthy finale of the Dominion v Fox nearly-trial
Fox News to benefit from tax write-off over settlement
Thursday 20 April 2023 10:30 , Rachel Sharp
Fox News looks set to benefit from a tax write-off from its $787m payout to Dominion Voting Systems, it has been revealed.
Fox Corporation executive Brian Nick confirmed to Lever News that the historic settlement is tax deductible but would not reveal the amount that the network will be able to write off.
However the revelation means that the landmark payout – the largest in US history for a libel case – might not harm Fox News’ profits as much as expected.
Jake Tapper struggles to keep a straight face as he reads Fox reaction to Dominion victory
Thursday 20 April 2023 11:00 , Bevan Hurley
CNN anchor Jake Tapper couldn’t help but chuckle on Tuesday as he announced the news that Fox News averted a bruising defamation trial over false election claims by paying a $787.5m (£633m) settlement to voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems.
The host hesitated multiple times as he read a statement from Fox News, which framed the settlement as a sign of “Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards” and a move which “allows the country to move forward from these issues.”
Tapper, for his part, told viewers the settlement “can only be interpreted as one of the ugliest and most embarrassing moments in the history of journalism”.
CNN’s Jake Tapper laughs as he reads Fox reaction to Dominion settlement
Tucker Carlson laughs at people being laid off in Elon Musk interview
Thursday 20 April 2023 12:30 , Shweta Sharma
Fox News host Tucker Carlson cracked a smile as he listened to Elon Musk describe slashing 80 per cent of Twitter’s employees after taking over.
“Turns out you don’t need all that many people to run Twitter,” Mr Musk said. “If you’re not trying to run some kind of glorified activist organisation, and you’re not caring that much about censorship, you can really let go of a lot of people it turns out.”
Carlson, in an interview that aired this week on the network, called the layoffs “one of the great business stories of the year,” and recounted a story of having dinner with an executive who praised Mr Musk for “firing the staff stuff.”
.@TuckerCarlson asked @elonmusk how he was able to cut 80% of Twitter staff.
Elon’s answer?
“If you’re not trying to run some sort of glorified activist organization and you don’t care that much about censorship, you can really let go of a lot of people, it turns out.”
Spot on pic.twitter.com/YbobS8ow8P— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 18, 2023
Don’t be disappointed by the Fox News vs Dominion outcome – this is just the start
Thursday 20 April 2023 16:20 , Bevan Hurley
Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent:
To the general disappointment of progressive observers, Fox settled its lawsuit with Dominion voting systems just before the trial’s opening arguments were slated to begin.
I, along with plenty of others, had been hoping for a full trial. We wanted to see Fox anchors like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity testify in open court under oath that they had lied to their viewers about the election, insisting that the vote was rigged against Donald Trump when they knew it was not.
Fox was desperate to avoid that, and with a $787.5 million settlement – the biggest libel payout in American history – they did.
A long trial underlining the perfidy and recklessness of right-wing media would have been a healthy outcome for democracy, and could have even undermined Fox’s reputation with some of its fanbase.
But it’s important to acknowledge that the lawsuit does provide some accountability, and, just as important, it makes future coup attempts or assaults on democracy more difficult. We know from discovery that Fox carefully weighed incentives and financial consequences before pushing election lies. This payout changes those incentives for the future. That’s a good thing.
Don’t be disappointed by the Fox v Dominion outcome – this is just the start | Voices
How the almost-trial of Dominion v Fox exploded into a Succession-worthy finale
Thursday 20 April 2023 17:00 , Bevan Hurley
Mountains of evidence boxes were wheeled into a seventh-floor courtroom on Tuesday morning, moments before lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems planned to eviscerate Fox News and its Fox Corporation leadership for the volley of false claims about the company in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Later that morning, jurors were sworn in. They ordered lunch. Hours later, it was over. And Fox News admitted that statements on its airwaves about Dominion were false, agreeing to pay the voting machine company more than $787m in a settlement that averted one of the biggest-ever defamation trials in American history.
Alex Woodward on the made-for-TV courtroom drama that would never be televised.
The Succession-worthy finale of the Dominion v Fox nearly-trial
Mike Lindell bet $5m no one could disprove his election fraud claims. Now he has to pay
Thursday 20 April 2023 17:30 , Bevan Hurley
After conspiracy theorist and pillow salesman Mike Lindell tried to renege on a promise to pay $5m to anyone who could prove purported evidence of 2020 election fraud was false, a private arbitration panel has ruled that Mr Lindell has made his bed and must lie in it.
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg has the story.
Mike Lindell bet $5m no one could disprove his fraud claim. Now he has to pay
How one man helped bring Fox News and Dominion to a settlement from a European river cruise
Thursday 20 April 2023 18:00 , Bevan Hurley
A mediator hired late Sunday pushed the two sides toward a $787m settlement that brought a stunning end to the most-watched media libel case in decades, one that sought to put a price on lies told about the 2020 presidential election on conservative America‘s most popular news outlet.
Jerry Roscoe pulled off the astonishing deal while onboard a Danube River cruise with his wife half a world away.
One man helped bring Fox News and Dominion to a settlement from a European cruise
Everyone who is being sued by Dominion over election lies
Thursday 20 April 2023 19:00 , Bevan Hurley
Dominion Voting Systems agreed to settle its defamation lawsuit with Fox News for $787.5m on Tuesday — but its legal battles are far from over.
While the Fox News case attracted most of the headlines, Dominion filed a swathe of defamation suits against right-wing networks, lawyers and media personalities in the months after the 2020 election.
Here’s everyone who is being sued by Dominion.
From Rudy Giuliani to Newsmax, everyone Dominion is suing for election lies
Trump’s election lies cost Fox $787m – will they also cost him the White House in 2024?
Thursday 20 April 2023 19:57 , Bevan Hurley
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg writes:
For a good portion of the network’s quarter-century on the air, Fox News went by the mantra of “we report, you decide”.
But after the network wholeheartedly embraced Donald Trump in 2016, the reporting became optional because their viewers had already decided.
They decided to believe whatever Trump told them. And when they heard something that contradicted that, they looked elsewhere for more comforting lies.
Two years later, Fox’s audience has remained loyal to Trump, but the twice-impeached ex-president’s lies are still exacting a cost.
Some of that cost may yet to be extracted from Fox’s bottom line.
Another voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, still has a multi-billion dollar lawsuit pending against Fox for many of the same lies that pushed Rupert Murdoch and his organisation to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to get Dominion to drop their case.
But it may be Mr Trump who ultimately pays the highest price.
Trump’s election lies cost Fox $787m – will they also cost him 2024?
Trump remains silent on Fox’s Dominion lawsuit settlement
Thursday 20 April 2023 22:04 , Graeme Massie
Former president Donald Trump’s social media output in the hours since Fox News reached a $787m settlement with Dominion Voting Systems has included numerous posts promoting a series of digital trading cards he is selling, attacks on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and bizarre complaints about Elon Musk and alleged censorship on Twitter (where Mr Trump’s account has gone unused since it was restored earlier this year).
But Mr Trump has not weighed in on Fox’s decision to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to Dominion rather than allow a Delaware jury to determine how much the right-wing network should pay for broadcasting repeated lies about the company’s products rather than report the truth because it was upsetting their audience.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Trump remains silent on Fox’s Dominion lawsuit settlement
MyPillow guy Mike Lindell ordered to pay $5m over debunked election claims
Thursday 20 April 2023 23:01 , Graeme Massie
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who is being sued by Dominion Voting Machines, has been ordered to pay $5m to a cyber security expert who debunked his bogus claims about the 2020 elections, according to a new report from CNN.
Mr Lindell pledged to pay the sum to anyone who could disprove his data claiming widespread fraud in Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
An arbitration panel has now reportedly awarded $5m to software expert Robert Zeidman, after he sued Mr Lindell.
In January 2021, Dominion filed a $1.3bn damages claim against Mr Lindell.
The lawsuit alleged that Mr Lindell had “knowingly lied about Dominion to sell more pillows to people who continued tuning in to hear what they wanted to hear about the election”.
A trial date has not yet been set.
How one man helped bring Fox News and Dominion to a settlement from onboard a European river cruise
Friday 21 April 2023 00:04 , Graeme Massie
A mediator hired late Sunday pushed Fox and Dominion toward a $787m settlement that brought a stunning end to the most-watched media libel case in decades.
“It’s a deadline that I always impose because I know that once a jury is empaneled and opening statements are made, then one or other of the parties will dig into their positions,” Jerry Roscoe, of the Washington-based JAMS mediation service, told The Associated Press.
“It makes negotiations much more difficult.”
One man helped bring Fox News and Dominion to a settlement from a European cruise
Could Fox News MAGA hosts be fired by Rupert Murdoch following his channel’s $787.5m Dominion defamation settlement?
Friday 21 April 2023 00:48 , Graeme Massie
Murdoch’s executives will give a stern warning and may even look to get rid of hosts who backed Donald Trump’s false election claims, a leading media pundit speculates.
Puck founder Dylan Byers wrote that Mr Murdoch’s leadership team would sit down and warn implicated hosts to ‘be careful’ or may even take a stronger stand and cut them altogether.
The Independent has requested comment from Fox News addressing the speculation
New details emerge from Rupert Murdoch’s deposition
01:11 , Graeme Massie
Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch appeared to be rattled after he was deposed by Dominion Voting Systems attorneys, according to a new report in the New York Times.
Fox’s legal counsel Viet Dinh reportedly tried to reassure Mr Murdoch after he was quizzed by Dominion’s lead counsel Justin Nelson in the pre-trial deposition.
“I’m just going to say it. They didn’t lay a finger on you,” Mr Dinh said, according to the Times.
Mr Murdoch then pointed at Mr Nelson, and said: “I think he would strongly disagree with that.”
“Indeed I do,” Mr Nelson replied.
Dominion’s private equity owner says: 'We exposed the truth’
02:09 , Graeme Massie
In an interview with Reuters out this morning, the head of a private equity firm that owns Dominion Voting Systems said they had held Fox News accountable.
Staple Street Capital’s Hootan Yaghoobzadeh told the news wire: “We exposed the truth and we did create accountability for their actions.”
Mr Yaghoobzadeh told Reuters that Fox’s “despicable” practices had been laid bare through the discovery process, and they had achieved their goals from the $787.5m settlement.
Fox News finally covers the Dominion trial, fails to mention how much they’re paying to make it go away
03:08 , Graeme Massie
Fox News has had very little to say about Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation lawsuit for nearly the entirety of its existence, but finally deemed the story worth covering on Tuesday when it announced the parties had settled.
In Fox News’ story — which comes in at 256 words, approximately 70 of which are a block quote from a Fox spokesman— we do not learn why the company was sued, just that it was broadly sued for defamation. We also do not learn how much it cost the network to make the trial go away.
(It was $787.5m, in case you missed it.)
Graig Graziosi has the story.
Fox News finally covers the Dominion trial, and it is embarrassing
Stephen Colbert shares frustration at Fox-Dominion settlement: ‘Damn it! I want my trial!’
04:02 , Graeme Massie
Stephen Colbert could barely contain his laughter as he discussed the news that Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion for $787.5m.
“Damnit! I want my trial! I want it!” he shouted. “I wanted to see Rupert Murdoch put his hand on the Bible and burst into flames.
“I guess it’s satisfying for Dominion that Rup-y had to fork over a pile of cash, but that does nothing for our democracy.”
Isobel Lewis has the full story.
Stephen Colbert shares frustration at Fox-Dominion settlement
How the almost-trial of Dominion v Fox exploded into a Succession-worthy finale
05:09 , Graeme Massie
Mountains of evidence boxes were wheeled into a seventh-floor courtroom on Tuesday morning, moments before lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems planned to eviscerate Fox News and its Fox Corporation leadership for the volley of false claims about the company in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Later that morning, jurors were sworn in. They ordered lunch. Hours later, it was over. And Fox News admitted that statements on its airwaves about Dominion were false, agreeing to pay the voting machine company more than $787m in a settlement that averted one of the biggest-ever defamation trials in American history.
Alex Woodward on the made-for-TV courtroom drama that would never be televised.
The Succession-worthy finale of the Dominion v Fox nearly-trial
Fox needs to choose between news and opinion, former political editor says
06:01 , Graeme Massie
Former Fox News political editor Chris Stirewalt, who was fired after correctly calling Arizona for Joe Biden in 2020, told the Washington Post that the network needs to choose between news and opinion.
“Where they can’t stay is being a little bit news,” he told the Post. “There’s too much exposure attached to that.”
Mr Stirewalt said that Fox and the broader right-wing movement had shifted towards telling voters and viewers what they wanted to hear, while ignoring hard truths.
Trump’s election lies cost Fox $787m – will they also cost him the White House in 2024?
07:13 , Graeme Massie
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg writes:
For a good portion of the network’s quarter-century on the air, Fox News went by the mantra of “we report, you decide”.
But after the network wholeheartedly embraced Donald Trump in 2016, the reporting became optional because their viewers had already decided.
They decided to believe whatever Trump told them. And when they heard something that contradicted that, they looked elsewhere for more comforting lies.
Two years later, Fox’s audience has remained loyal to Trump, but the twice-impeached ex-president’s lies are still exacting a cost.
Some of that cost may yet to be extracted from Fox’s bottom line.
Another voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, still has a multi-billion dollar lawsuit pending against Fox for many of the same lies that pushed Rupert Murdoch and his organisation to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to get Dominion to drop their case.
But it may be Mr Trump who ultimately pays the highest price.
Trump’s election lies cost Fox $787m – will they also cost him 2024?
Don’t be disappointed by the Fox News vs Dominion outcome – this is just the start
07:57 , Graeme Massie
Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent:
To the general disappointment of progressive observers, Fox settled its lawsuit with Dominion voting systems just before the trial’s opening arguments were slated to begin.
I, along with plenty of others, had been hoping for a full trial. We wanted to see Fox anchors like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity testify in open court under oath that they had lied to their viewers about the election, insisting that the vote was rigged against Donald Trump when they knew it was not.
Fox was desperate to avoid that, and with a $787.5 million settlement – the biggest libel payout in American history – they did.
A long trial underlining the perfidy and recklessness of right-wing media would have been a healthy outcome for democracy, and could have even undermined Fox’s reputation with some of its fanbase.
But it’s important to acknowledge that the lawsuit does provide some accountability, and, just as important, it makes future coup attempts or assaults on democracy more difficult. We know from discovery that Fox carefully weighed incentives and financial consequences before pushing election lies. This payout changes those incentives for the future. That’s a good thing.
Don’t be disappointed by the Fox v Dominion outcome – this is just the start | Voices
Everyone who is being sued by Dominion over election lies
09:03 , Graeme Massie
Dominion Voting Systems agreed to settle its defamation lawsuit with Fox News for $787.5m on Tuesday — but its legal battles are far from over.
While the Fox News case attracted most of the headlines, Dominion filed a swathe of defamation suits against right-wing networks, lawyers and media personalities in the months after the 2020 election.
Here’s everyone who is being sued by Dominion.
From Rudy Giuliani to Newsmax, everyone Dominion is suing for election lies
Tucker Carlson laughs at people being laid off in Elon Musk interview
10:06 , Graeme Massie
Fox News host Tucker Carlson cracked a smile as he listened to Elon Musk describe slashing 80 per cent of Twitter’s employees after taking over.
“Turns out you don’t need all that many people to run Twitter,” Mr Musk said. “If you’re not trying to run some kind of glorified activist organisation, and you’re not caring that much about censorship, you can really let go of a lot of people it turns out.”
Josh Marcus has the full story.
Tucker Carlson laughs at people being laid off in Elon Musk interview
Trump remains silent on Fox’s Dominion lawsuit settlement
11:04 , Graeme Massie
The former American president who was once a fixture on Fox News before turning against the network after losing the 2020 election has remained silent on the right-wing channel’s decision to settle a defamation lawsuit with the voting machine maker he had falsely accused of rigging the election.
Former president Donald Trump’s social media output in the hours since Fox News reached a $787m settlement with Dominion Voting Systems has included numerous posts promoting a series of digital trading cards he is selling, attacks on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and bizarre complaints about Elon Musk and alleged censorship on Twitter.
But Mr Trump has not weighed in on Fox’s decision to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to Dominion since his last tweet on the issue on Monday.
“If Fox would finally admit that there was large scale cheating & irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, which would be a good thing for them, & for America, the case against them, which should not have existed at all, would be greatly weakened,” he said.
Ex-Fox News host says network’s ‘greed and disinformation is a danger to democracy’
12:05 , Graeme Massie
Ex-Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson blasted her former employer for placing profits and ratings over truth and media integrity.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday night, Ms Carlson said the Donald Trump-hating messaging revealed by Dominion in the lawsuit represents the “travesty” of the network.
“Because I think it’s actually a threat to American democracy to promote that kind of misinformation,” she said.
“Let me be clear. There is a huge difference between espousing conservative viewpoints and having an intellectual conversation between conservatives and liberals, which I think is very important — there’s a huge difference between that and telling lies to the American public, and that’s where we have now become in the evolution of Fox News, at least with regard to the 2020 election and January 6th.”
Fox News finally covers the Dominion trial, fails to mention how much they’re paying to make it go away
13:00 , Graeme Massie
Fox News has had very little to say about Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation lawsuit for nearly the entirety of its existence, but finally deemed the story worth covering on Tuesday when it announced the parties had settled.
In Fox News’ story — which comes in at 256 words, approximately 70 of which are a block quote from a Fox spokesman— we do not learn why the company was sued, just that it was broadly sued for defamation. We also do not learn how much it cost the network to make the trial go away.
(It was $787.5m, in case you missed it.)
Graig Graziosi has the story.
Fox News finally covers the Dominion trial, and it is embarrassing
Smartmatic reveals what it will take to settle with Fox News
13:30 , Rachel Sharp
Fox News has other legal troubles brewing with Smartmatic revealing what it will take for it to also settle its case against the network.
The voting technology company’s lawyer said on Thursday it won’t accept any settlement smaller than the same $787m payout and will demand a “full retraction” and “apology” from the network.
“They need to get an apology. They need to get a full retraction,” Smartmatic lawyer Erik Connolly told Jake Tapper.
Murdoch’s son drops lawsuit against Crikey
14:00 , Rachel Sharp
Rupert Murdoch‘s son has suddenly dropped his lawsuit against Australian news site Crikey days after Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems a landmark settlement.
Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch filed the Crikey suit last August a day after executives at Crikey’s publisher put their names to an ad in The New York Times inviting Lachlan Murdoch to sue to test the press freedom issue in court.
Murdoch’s lawsuit targeted the publisher, Private Media, its then-managing editor Peter Fray, who was also the website’s editor-in-chief, and Crikey’s political editor, Bernard Keane.
Murdoch claimed he was defamed by Keane’s column about the US congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol building which Crikey published in June last year under the headlines: “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator.”
Murdoch’s lawyer John Churchill said in a statement he had filed a notice of discontinuance in Federal Court on Friday.
“Crikey has tried to introduce thousands of pages of documents from a defamation case in another jurisdiction, which has now settled,” the statement said, referring to the Fox News settlement with Dominion Voting Systems that was announced Tuesday.
“Mr Murdoch remains confident that the court would ultimately find in his favor, however he does not wish to further enable Crikey’s use of the court to litigate a case from another jurisdiction that has already been settled and facilitate a marketing campaign designed to attract subscribers and boost their profits,” Churchill said.
