Litigation or amicable agreement? The Fox News case is difficult

The long-awaited trial of US channel Fox News, accused by an electronic voting machine company of propagating a false thesis of a fraudulent presidential election in 2020, should come to the center of the matter on Tuesday. Unless a last minute agreement is reached with the complainant.

• Read more: Dominion v. Fox News: Misinformation on the docket

• Read more: The Fox News case was delayed by last-minute negotiations

After jury selection, preliminary arguments from both sides were scheduled for Monday, but Judge Eric Davis postponed a one-day hearing until Tuesday at Delaware State Superior Court in Wilmington.

No motive was given, but according to the Wall Street Journal, which, like Fox News, is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, “Fox was pushed at the last minute to resolve its dispute with Dominion voting systems.”

Regardless of the financial terms, a deal would spare the conservatives’ favorite channel, its parent company Fox Corp. and the Murdoch family from facing what the New York Times called Monday’s “defamation trial of the century.” Rupert Murdoch, 92, has a chance to testify on the stand.

“an average one”

An investigation will be watched closely in the United States, where it is seen as a test of the limits of freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Constitution’s First Amendment and the fight against misinformation.

In total, Dominion Voting Systems, which operated in 28 states during the 2020 election, is seeking $1.6 billion in damages in this civil court.

A staggering amount, but peaking, according to the prejudice presented on the most-watched American cable channel as the “villain” of a “fictional story” after Donald Trump lost the 2020 November presidential election. She wrote in her complaint.

In a tense situation, Republicans accused the Biden camp of all kinds of fraud without evidence. And his advisers, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, pointed out Dominion daily on Fox News sets.

During the pretrial phase, Judge Eric Davies found it “clear as water that none of Dominion’s claims about the 2020 election are true”. The Dominion considers the twenty realms blasphemous.

But the company must establish a deliberate intent to lie to Fox News, and the jury must reach a unanimous verdict.

“Really Crazy”

The conservative camp must have, and Fox News, which is constantly accused of echoing conspiracy theories, is playing big and wants to make the trial a symbolic case for press freedom.

According to the chain, it was legitimate for the Trump camp to give it a platform as it competed in the polls and it was “vital to the search for truth” for all parties to express themselves.

But the process has already led to an embarrassing unpacking for Fox, its stars and its leaders, with emails or text message exchanges being released that show no one inside the chain and its parent company, Fox Corp., is believed. A rigged election.

A “Really crazy thing. And damaging”, Big Boss, Rupert Murdoch, on November 19, 2020, “Watching Giuliani! To Fox News boss Suzanne Scott.

At the heart of the plaintiff’s argument are numerous messages obtained within the framework of the process and emanating from channel stars such as Tucker Carlson or Laura Ingraham, according to which Fox News deliberately lied. Donald Trump won to lose its audience.

“We need to fire her,” said Tucker Carlson, after seeing a tweet from a journalist from the chain dispelling allegations of fraud.

“This is affecting the business significantly. The stock price has gone down. This is no joke,” he added.

Fox News accuses Dominion polling systems of selecting disconnected and biased stories.

The trial, if held, should conclude by the end of May.