Dominion Voting Systems Targets 20 Fox News Broadcasts and Tweets in Defamation Lawsuit
Dominion Voting Systems has pinpointed 20 specific broadcasts and tweets by Fox News that they claim purposely spread falsehoods, leading to severe damage to the company's reputation. The defamation lawsuit highlights these instances, which occurred from November 8, 2020, to January 26, 2021. The allegations mainly came from on-air remarks by Fox hosts Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs, and Maria Bartiromo, interviews with Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Lindell, who are known for denying the legitimacy of the 2020 election, and several of Dobbs's tweets.
The allegations contained four main themes: Dominion committed election fraud, it manipulated algorithms to switch votes, it had connections to Venezuela, and politicians received kickbacks for using their services. The presiding judge has already dismissed these claims as untrue.
The trial will task the jury with deciding whether the statements were published with "actual malice," meaning that they were either knowingly false or recklessly indifferent to the truth. If found guilty, Fox could face a potential penalty. Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion in damages and additional punitive damages, a figure that Fox argues is excessively inflated.
Fox has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the lawsuit is an unfounded attack on the freedom of the press. The network's attorneys have contended that Dominion has not met the high threshold necessary to establish defamation.
The lawsuit provides a detailed account of the 20 specific broadcasts and tweets that allegedly defamed Dominion. These include claims of election fraud and algorithm manipulation on shows like "Sunday Morning Futures," "Lou Dobbs Tonight," "Justice with Judge Jeanine," and "Fox & Friends Sunday." Prominent Fox News hosts and guests like Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani made false allegations about Dominion's ties to Venezuela and politicians receiving kickbacks. The broadcasts also include tweets by Dobbs alleging election fraud and algorithm flips.
The trial is set to examine these allegations closely, setting the stage for a significant legal battle over the impact of false information spread by major news outlets.