Why Fox News retracts its tail

The jury has been selected, the lawsuits have been filed: today the libel trial against the TV channel Fox News would have started. But Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis surprisingly said on Sunday night that the trial had been postponed by at least a day. He gave no reason for this.

The lawyers of the two fighters are also silent. Nevertheless, there are many indications that a last-minute settlement could be reached, with Fox News ending up the loser. But first a quick review:

Donald Trump has not accepted his election defeat to this day and instead launched the Big Lie – the conspiracy theory that the election was rigged. At the heart of this thesis was the claim that the voting machines had been manipulated in favor of Joe Biden.

Trump’s attorneys at the time, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, loudly disseminated this thesis over and over again — and especially on Fox News. They were allowed to trumpet their dissertations unchallenged in various formats of the station; and this despite fact-checking by the station itself which showed them to be totally unfounded; and this too, even though the responsible moderators Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson had described them as “total rubbish” in internal emails.

Dominion, the maker of the voting machines, is suing Fox News for libel and seeking $1.6 billion in damages. However, such a civil case is extremely difficult to win in the US, as the media is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

There is also a 1964 ruling, New York Times Company vs Sullivan, which states that media is only guilty of defamation when they act with “actual malice”. Proving this fact is extremely difficult. Fox News therefore initially took the lawsuit lightly. The TV channel’s lawyers also said, “The Dominion trial is a political crusade, which is also aimed at huge financial gain. The real price, however, is the damage to the Constitution’s First Amendment.”

Meanwhile, Fox News officials have gotten off their high horses. As the Wall Street Journal reports, they are now apparently ready for a comparison. This renowned newspaper is also part of publisher Rupert Murdoch’s empire.

There are a number of reasons why Fox News is giving in. Here you are:

Even in a comparison, Fox News is likely to lose its feathers, and not just financially. Dominion officials have consistently insisted that they will only agree to a settlement if the TV station publicly formally apologizes and admits that it knowingly spread false information. However, such an apology would alienate Fox News’ Trump-loving viewers.

Settled or not, Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox News is the most significant media lawsuit in recent history. It’s about much more than money; it’s about where freedom of speech ends and knowing lying begins.

John Culhane, a law professor at Widener University, told the New York Times, “If this process were to take a wrong turn, it would be a terrible mistake. Because there won’t be a more convincing case of disinformation anytime soon.”