Fox News Slapped With $1.6 Billion Defamation Suit by Dominion Voting Systems
Dominion Voting Systems on Friday hit Fox News with a $1.6 billion defamation suit that argued that the cable news giant “sold a false story of election fraud” following the 2020 presidential campaign in order to maintain its viewership.
The company argued that Fox News and its on-air personalities repeatedly amplified false assertions that Dominion altered votes through algorithms in its voting machines. On-air talent also gave platforms to allies of President Donald Trump such as Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, who repeated the false claims that were also amplified on the network’s sizable social media accounts.
The suit focused on how Fox News behaved differently than other news outlets, which reported objectively on the false accusations, and noted that the network’s ratings dropped after the election among viewers who thought it was not sufficiently supportive of Trump. “This was a conscious, knowing business decision to endorse and repeat and broadcast these lies in order to keep its viewership,” Dominion attorney Justin Nelson told the Associated Press.
Dominion lawyers said the company had suffered “enormous and irreparable economic harm” from the false claims — and noted that employees had been subjected to harassment and death threats.
In January, Dominion filed suits against former Trump lawyers Giuliani and Powell — and filed another suit in February against Mike Lindell, the CEO of the Minnesota-based MyPillow.
Smartmatic USA, another election technology company whose involvement in the 2020 presidential election was restricted to Los Angeles County, in February filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News as well as on-air hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. (The following day, the company canceled Dobbs’ show.)
A rep for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More to come…
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