Fox News has reached a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, putting an end to a high-profile defamation lawsuit just as a trial was set to begin. This settlement is the largest publicly known defamation payout in U.S. history involving a media company.
The agreement was announced shortly after jury selection was completed at the Delaware Superior Court. Proceedings were interrupted for nearly three hours, during which the parties negotiated the terms of the settlement.
Judge Eric Davis confirmed the resolution before dismissing the jury, acknowledging their role in prompting this outcome. Dominion’s legal team characterized the settlement as a significant step for accountability and truth in democracy.
Fox News acknowledged a court ruling that found certain claims regarding Dominion to be false, but stated it does not need to publicly admit to spreading misinformation. The payout is approximately half of the $1.6 billion Dominion originally sought.
In settling, Fox executives and key personalities, including Rupert Murdoch and prominent hosts, avoided testifying about their coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Revelations from internal communications had indicated Fox representatives privately questioned the validity of the claims they aired.
While this case is concluded, Fox News faces another defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, a competing voting technology company. Dominion also continues to pursue legal action against various right-wing media entities and individuals associated with the election misinformation.
Fox News maintains that it did not defame Dominion and views the lawsuit as an infringement on First Amendment rights.
Source: Reported based on publicly available information from www.cnn.com.
