Fox News and parent company Fox Corp have agreed a $787.5m (£633m) settlement with voting machine firm Dominion, averting a high-profile defamation trial.
The settlement was announced at the 11th hour, after the 12-person jury had been selected and just as both sides were due to deliver their opening statements in Delaware Superior Court.
Dominion, which sells electronic voting hardware and software, had been suing Fox News Network and its parent company Fox Corp over the channel’s coverage of false vote-rigging claims following the 2020 US election.
Dominion had sought $1.6bn in damages but settled for less than half that amount, with one of its lawyers, Justin Nelson, saying outside the court: “The truth matters, lies have consequences.”
He added: “Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country.
“Today’s settlement represents vindication and accountability.
“We must share a commitment to facts.
“Misinformation will not go away, it may only get worse.
“This litigation cannot solve all problems, all of us remain ever vigilant to find common factual ground.
“Today represents a ringing endorsement for truth and for democracy.”
The deal means Fox will not have to risk seeing some of its best-known figures called to the witness stand, including Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul who serves as Fox Corp chairman, and Fox CEO Suzanne Scott, as well as on-air hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.
Fox said in a statement: “We acknowledge the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be 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, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”
The settlement still needs the approval of the Judge, Eric Davis.
Emails, texts and other documents produced as part of the lawsuit showed that many of the controversial right-wing network’s hosts, executives and producers did not believe the vote-rigging allegations but aired them anyway.
Dominion argued that Fox News made the claims to boost its faltering TV ratings.
According to a copy of the lawsuit, Dominion claimed the news channel “sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process”, adding: “If this case does not rise to the level of defamation by a broadcaster, then nothing does”.
Dominion had also said evidence showed a big gap between what was being aired and the doubts expressed by Fox hosts privately.
A filing revealed in February that one of the channel’s most popular hosts Tucker Carlson, for example, texted on 16 November 2020 saying that Trump lawyer Sidney Powell “is lying” about having evidence of election fraud.
Mr Murdoch had also expressed doubts about one of the network’s commentators Lou Dobbs, Dominion’s filing said, describing him as “an extremist”.
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