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 sued 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 said Fox had repeatedly aired allegations made by allies of Donald Trump that the voting software had flipped votes to Joe Biden – even though many at the network doubted the claims.
Analysis: Murdoch has had to dig deep to avoid an embarrassing trial about Fox News lies
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.”
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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.
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Rupert Murdoch
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Tucker Carlson. Pic: AP
If the case had gone to trial, it would also have tested a libel standard that has protected media outlets for decades.
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”.
The Dominion case was among a number of suits filed by targets of misleading, false and bizarre claims spread by Trump and his allies after his loss to Mr Biden.
Another US voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7bn (£2.2bn) in damages from Fox in a New York state court.
