Lies and Libel: A Deeper Look Into the Fox Defamation Suit

A big lawsuit against Fox News begins on Tuesday. It has the potential to show us more about Donald Trump’s false statements about the election, what is going on inside of the conservative network, and could even change how we view libel laws in America. Here is a look at all that you need to know about this case.

THE CASE:

March 9th marks the start of a very important court case. Dominion Voting Systems, a company that operates voting machines during elections, is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion. They believe Fox News reported false stories claiming their voting machines were rigged to make Donald Trump lose during the 2020 Presidential Election. Fox News says they only reported what people in support of Trump said and defended themselves by saying it was legal under libel standards. The jury will be assembled and start hearing opening statements on the same day, so who knows if anything could happen before then!

Election Disconnect

If you’ve ever voted, you know that it’s sometimes tough to understand why results turn out the way they do. Despite millions of citizens speaking up about what matters most in their daily lives, political decisions made can often feel disconnected from the voting public.

Dominion, a company based in Denver, has revealed that key people at Fox had doubts about the fraud allegations spread by Donald Trump and his allies. Internal emails and texts showed disbelief at how far-reaching the claims were. Sean Hannity from Fox even said he didn’t think they were true for one second but still wanted both sides to present their evidence. Rupert Murdoch (who founded Fox) admitted under oath that Joe Biden won the 2020 election fairly. He also sent a message to a high-ranking executive on Jan 5th 2021 confirming Biden’s win and asking prominent Fox hosts Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro to say so too. Even if they often stated false information that was not backed up by any proof of voter fraud.

FOX’S FEAR

Have you ever felt scared? Well, foxes can feel scared too! They might be afraid of loud noises or predators. Foxes may also become stressed if they are not in a comfortable environment. So it’s important to remember that even small animals like foxes can experience fear just like us!

Fox made a call that Joe Biden had won in the state of Arizona on election night, which caused some people to become really mad and start watching Newsmax (an alternative conservative tv channel) instead. Documents from this case show that Fox employees saw their viewership decreasing while Newsmax gained more viewers, making them worry about a potential threat to their business.

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Fox has used a law from 1964 that makes it difficult for some people to show they’ve been defamed by news outlets. People like Dominion, in this case, must prove that the reported information was incorrect AND that the news organization acted carelessly when checking if it was true or not. Fox believes Dominion can’t win, but certain defenders of free speech feel otherwise. They’re afraid if the lawsuit lingers on long enough, the Supreme Court may change laws that protect all media companies.

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JUDGE’S ANGER

The trial of Fox hasn’t been going so well, partly because the public discovered some uncomfortable conversations between TV host Tucker Carlson and President Trump. The judge became mad at Fox because of their last-minute details about one of their staff’s evidence and recordings. Fox also won in court because they stopped certain evidence from coming to light, like the riots which happened on Capitol Hill during the winter of 2021.

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TRUMP’S CONCERN

President Trump is obviously alarmed about the case, which can be seen from his social media posts. He’s concerned about loyalty, and he’s not happy that many people at Fox didn’t support his accusations of fraud. Plus, he feels resentment for Arizona call. Recently, though, Trump has given interviews to Carlson and Hannity–two Fox personalities–because the 2024 Republican presidential primary is important to him.

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THE ELECTION

Important officials from the federal and state level, and other investigations in several states where President Trump wasn’t happy that he lost, investigated and looked for fraud but did not find any big or serious proof of cheating. Also, a lot of courts, even those Judge’s appointed by President Trump rejected what Trump said about fraud.