Fox having to pay a substantial damages settlement to Dominion is a just outcome; their amplification of lies about malicious backdoors and rigged elections was contemptible and dangerous.
But we shouldn't conclude from this that US voting systems are perfectly or even adequately protected against attack. While great progress has been made, there's still a great deal of work left to do to make our elections truly secure and robust.
Fox has paid a price, in both cash and reputational harm. The case didn’t give us the dramatic public trial that might have been, but at least there was a great deal of deposition testimony and other discovery material put on the record. That’s ultimately a win for society, even if it was less dramatic and satisfying than we might have hoped.
And more cases are still in process.
Also, while the settlement amount was about half of the $1.6B that Dominion asked for, it was by no means assured that that's what a jury would have actually awarded, or that a large award wouldn't be reduced by the judge or on appeal.
The damages aspects of the case were complicated, and would likely have involved fairly involved expert testimony by economists, with reasonable arguments for both large and small numbers.
Taking the $787 million was probably a very rational decision.
It's important to remember this was a civil case, not a criminal one. Even if the jury thinks Fox deserves to be punished, the only thing they can do is award cash. They can't send anyone to jail, or force Fox to apologize or admit wrongdoing. Just pay money.
If there had been a trial, we would have learned a bit more and presumably gotten to watch some Fox witnesses squirm a bit. And that would have been fun, but ultimately this case was about how much, if anything, Fox has to pay Dominion.
@mattblaze Dominion also knew any outcome would be publicized. While Fox viewers won’t learn any different, Dominion isn’t selling products to the general public. Anyone and everyone involved in election supply chain purchasing anywhere in the world knows what went down.
Their biggest risk now is becoming perceived as partisan. They don’t want to be the blue state voting machine company. They want red state sales too. Taking the settlement makes that easier.
@mattblaze Ultimately, this case was about how much it costs to intentionally damage our form of government.
Turns out it's about 1/10th of a mediocre NFL franchise.
@mattblaze fwiw the Smartmatic lawsuit is still ongoing, so Fox isn't out of the woods yet.
Fox News on Tuesday disposed of one legal threat with its $787.5 million defamation <a href="/legal/dominions-defamation-case-against-fox-poised-trial-after-delay-2023-04-18/">settlement</a> with Dominion Voting Systems, but the network still faces a <a href="/legal/fox-news-must-face-smartmatics-lawsuit-over-election-rigging-claims-2023-02-14/">$2.7 billion lawsuit</a> from another voting technology company, Smartmatic USA, over its coverage of debunked election-rigging claims.
@DR_murf @mattblaze Fox has not stated to date that they were wrong. They have not admitted to anything, and they probably won't have to. They acknowledged the judge's ruling, but acknowledging it doesn't mean anything. On the other hand, it looks like the settlement itself may end up being public, rather than the normal NDA that happens around these things.
Damage awards are generally limited to single-digit multipliers (State Farm v. Campbell, 2004). Dominion was facing an uphill battle to get even tens of millions in damages, and that's *if* they won, and it probably would have been dragged out in court for years. Legal bills could have consumed most or even all of any eventual award. They took the rational decision.
The next case against Fox is perhaps Smartmatic. They have even less damages That will probably go away in a settlement, too, and an even smaller one.
All that said, changes may still happen. Dan Bongino has already been released, ostensibly over contract negotiations, but he was one of the most extreme election deniers on Fox News and it happened days after the settlement with no forewarning. Fox News also edited a Trump interview recently, slicing out an election fraud claim, suggesting programming changes underway. Tucker isn't leaving, but others might. We'll have to wait and see.
@mattblaze Yeah. $787M guaranteed settlement that can be realized has a lot of value compared to $0 - $2B potential award.
Most don't realize with civil suits is even after you get a judgement in your favor, collecting on it becomes the next challenge.
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