How David (Dominion) defeated Goliath (Fox News).

Until November 2020, Dominion Voting Systems was a small, relatively unknown company. The Denver-based maker of voting machines didn’t even have a head of communications. Dominion was therefore completely unprepared when a post-election storm swept over the company en masse.

Donald Trump and his lawyers launched the conspiracy theory, without evidence, that the voting machines had been rigged in favor of Biden. As Fox News, the nation’s largest news channel, began spouting this nonsense almost every day, Dominion’s survival was suddenly threatened. Several conservative states have announced their intention to do without his services in the future.

However, Dominion did not give up. It hired communications specialist Tony Fratto, once deputy press secretary to President George W. Bush. Under his leadership, an investigative team was assembled that sent 3,600 emails to Fox News employees in an effort to uncover how the TV station made its absurd claims.

The result exceeded the wildest expectations. Internal e-mails were found in which star presenters such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham openly confessed that they did not believe for a second in the theory of the fake voting machines. Tucker Carlson even wrote that he “passionately” hates Trump. At the same time, however, the current Fox News superstar demanded that any journalist who suggested that the facts in any way support the conspiracy theory be fired immediately. The damage to the share price is too great.

Armed with this material, Dominion’s attorneys filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News in the Delaware Superior Court. In this state, Murdoch station is incorporated as a limited liability company. Winning a civil case like that is extremely difficult. Thanks to the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, and a 1964 Supreme Court ruling, the US media is very effectively protected against such claims.

Last minute comparison

Dominion succeeded, in part because the evidence is so overwhelming that the required “intentional malevolence” can be demonstrated. The arrogance of the Fox News lawyers, who took the lawsuit lightly for a long time, also helped. Finally, as fate would have it, the case ended up with Judge Eric Davis, a man not to be trifled with. Even before the trial began, he unequivocally stated, “The evidence in this civil trial clearly demonstrates that none of the statements about Dominion and the 2020 election are true.”

The trial should have started yesterday. Everything was ready for a spectacle. The star presenters were expected to take the stand themselves and endure an embarrassing interrogation. Even publisher Rupert Murdoch would testify.

The whole thing was called off at the last minute. Fox News agreed to a settlement whereby the company would pay $787.5 million in damages. That’s nearly half of the $1.6 billion Dominion originally requested, and one of the largest damages ever paid by a media company. It’s also equivalent to two-thirds of Fox News’ revenue last year.

Despite David Dominion’s victory over Goliath Fox News, slight disappointment spreads. This process would have been much more than just profit, it should have explored the limits of freedom of expression in a democracy. Nothing will come of it now and Fox News will be spared weeks of humiliation. The Murdoch broadcaster doesn’t even have to apologize publicly. “Money is responsibility and that’s what we got from Fox today,” said Stephen Shakelford, one of Dominion’s attorneys.

Fox News, meanwhile, said, “We acknowledge that the court has held that some of our claims about Dominion are untrue. The comparison reflects Fox’s continued commitment to upholding the highest standards of journalism.”

However, the slight disappointment should not hide the fact that Dominion has achieved a lot and that it is within her right to take care of herself first. We are talking about a civil case here, which is really mainly about money.

Fox News has been humiliated like never before and may be more cautious in the future. The last two interviews with Trump were not broadcast live, but were recorded, because it was apparently feared that the ex-president could have added more fuel to the fire with his notoriously thoughtless statements.

Likewise, the hypocrisy and sheer cynicism of the broadcaster and especially its star moderators have been publicly demonstrated. Carlson, Hannity & Co, who rake in $30 million and more annually, pose as representatives of the little man, rail against an elite and sell Fox News as one big, happy family. This photo has not only cracked insiders.

After all, Fox News isn’t off the hook just yet. Smartmatic, a manufacturer of voting machine software, has also sued the broadcaster for a whopping $2.7 billion. A judge in New York allowed the lawsuit. Smartmatic attorney Erik Connolly has already announced, “Dominion’s lawsuit has exposed some of the damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. We’ll do the rest.”