False allegations of fraud: Fox News pays voting machine manufacturers

False allegations of fraud
Fox News pays voting machine maker

When Donald Trump began telling the story of the “stolen election” after his election defeat in 2020, the Fox News broadcaster gratefully took up the allegations of manipulation. The voting machine manufacturer Dominion is suing for damage to its reputation. The broadcaster does not want to let the process come to pass.

Surprising last-minute settlement in a historic legal dispute: The right-wing US news broadcaster Fox News pays the voting machine company Dominion more than $787 million in damages for false allegations of voter fraud. The competent judge in Wilmington, Delaware, and the parties to the conflict announced the settlement on Tuesday. Fox News thus averted a defamation lawsuit at the last moment.

“The truth is important. Lying has consequences,” Dominion attorney Justin Nelson said outside the courthouse. The $787.5 million settlement provides for “rehabilitation and accountability.”

Dominion boss John Poulos spoke of a “historic” agreement. “Fox has admitted to lying about Dominion that has caused tremendous harm to my business, our employees and the customers we serve. Nothing will ever undo that.”

Fox News: It was just reporting

Dominion sued Fox News in March 2021 for false allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election for $1.6 billion in damages. The company accuses the broadcaster of having spread the false claim that Dominion voting machines had been used to manipulate votes – even though Fox News officials and moderators knew full well that the allegations were unfounded.

Fox News countered that the broadcaster had only reported on the allegations from the camp of then President Donald Trump without adopting them. The broadcaster relies on the first US constitutional amendment, which protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

The Delaware civil trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday noon with opening statements from attorneys for both sides after the jury swore in that morning. After the lunch break, the start of the proceedings was delayed by around two and a half hours without a reason being given. Judge Eric Davis then surprisingly announced the agreement between the conflicting parties.

In a statement, Fox News said it was “satisfied” with the settlement reached. The broadcaster, part of the media empire of controversial billionaire Rupert Murdoch, admitted that “some claims about Dominion were wrong”. The comparison reflects Fox News’ commitment to the “highest standards of journalism.”

Fox presenters themselves did not believe the claims

The incumbent Trump, who was defeated in the presidential election in November 2020, raised serious allegations of election fraud after his defeat, which were subsequently refuted many times. Numerous right-wing media took up these allegations and spread them further – including Fox News.

There have been a number of uncomfortable revelations about Fox News in recent months as part of Dominion’s defamation case. According to a court document released at the end of February, media mogul Murdoch admitted under oath that prominent Fox News anchors had “supported” false allegations of voter fraud in their broadcasts after the November 2020 presidential election.

A Dominion court document had previously made it clear that Murdoch and well-known Fox News anchors considered the allegations of voter fraud nonsensical. Murdoch, for example, described the claims internally as “crazy” and “damaging”. Star moderators like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham blasphemed about the then Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell – and partly about Trump himself.

Trump, who wants to run again in the 2024 presidential election, is still talking about alleged fraud in the 2020 election. As things stand today, the 76-year-old right-wing populist has a good chance of winning the primaries for the Republican Party’s presidential candidacy.

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