The US television broadcaster Fox News and the voting machine manufacturer Dominion have reached an out-of-court settlement in the legal dispute over allegations of defamation relating to unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Fox will pay Dominion $787.5 million in damages, Dominion attorney Justin Nelson said after Tuesday’s settlement. According to reports from journalists in the courtroom, the agreement was preceded by negotiations between the lawyers of both sides.
“Truth matters. Lying has consequences,” Nelson said. Shortly before, the responsible judge had announced the agreement between the conflicting parties.
Dominion had originally demanded around 1.6 billion US dollars (around 1.5 billion euros) in damages in the lawsuit because Fox News had distributed reports of alleged manipulation of the voting machines.
The station’s management, citing freedom of the press, insisted it had legitimately reproduced the accounts of then-US President Donald Trump and his lawyers as news. Dominion, on the other hand, wanted to prove that Fox News intentionally broadcast fake news.
Fox News thus averted a civil lawsuit in literally the last minute in the dispute over false allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The broadcaster, which is owned by controversial media mogul Rupert Murdoch, said it was “satisfied” with the settlement reached
