Everything to know about the Fox News-Dominion defamation trial
Media conglomerate Fox News has been engaged in a legal tussle with election technology company Dominion Voting Systems. The war started after Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election and Dominin alleged that "Fox had pushed false and potentially damaging information about the company's voting technology because the lies were good for Fox's business." The trial is expected to take place coming Tuesday.
What is the cause of the fight?
Dominion is the manufacturer of voting systems used in 28 states across America. The company has claimed that "Fox News defamed it when the network broadcast baseless claims that it was tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, that it paid kickbacks to politicians, and that its machines rigged the 2020 presidential election by flipping millions of votes for Trump to Joe Biden."
Dominion is seeking $1.6B in damages now
While the presidential election wrapped up in 2020, Dominion filed the lawsuit only in 2021. Along with seeking a whopping $1.6B in damages, it has also challenged several claims made by the hosts and the guests who appeared during debates on Fox News and Fox Business. Dominion will need to prove in court that the media company acted with "actual malice" against it.
Fox's defense claim: Dominion's business wasn't damaged
Fox News Networks has claimed, "It was reporting on extraordinary claims of election fraud by Trump" and "it's fighting to protect press freedoms and that the Constitution shields its work there," adding that Dominion's business wasn't "damaged." "Dominion's lawsuit is a political crusade in search of a financial windfall" and "Dominion has pushed irrelevant and misleading information to generate headlines," claimed Fox.
Fox underlined the First Amendment Act that protects the press
Fox further highlighted American Constitution's First Amendment which permits "information, ideas, and opinions without interference, constraint, or prosecution by the government." "This case is about the First Amendment protections of the media's absolute right to cover the news. Fox will continue to advocate for the rights of free speech and free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings," said Fox.
Dominion has an edge over Fox already
In a pretrial ruling earlier in April, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis sided in favor of the voting machine company and agreed that Fox's claims about it were false. "The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true," Davis wrote in his ruling, reported NBC News.
