Not all lies are created equal. For example, there are so-called white lies (“You haven’t gained an ounce!” when someone clearly has). But the lies that Fox News, its hosts and its guests told about Dominion Voting Systems in the wake of the 2020 election are the type of humdingers that can undermine our entire system of government.
We should keep in mind that this case is about protecting our democracy, not, as Fox will argue, about subverting the freedom of the press.
As we wait for Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., go to trial, we should keep in mind that this case is about protecting our democracy, not, as Fox will argue, about subverting the freedom of the press.
Dominion is suing Fox News for falsely stating that it tried to rig the presidential election for Joe Biden by stealing votes from Donald Trump. Specifically, Fox News hosts and guests claimed that Dominion bribed politicians, rigged its voting machines to flip votes from Trump to Biden and tied itself to Hugo Chávez, the late president of Venezuela. At the risk of stating the excruciatingly obvious, Dominion did none of these things. In fact, the judge has already ruled that Fox News hosts and guests lied. In fact, the judge explicitly stated that it was “crystal clear” that the statements at issue are false.
Defamation law requires that the plaintiff (here Dominion) prove that the defendant (Fox News and Fox Corp.) published a false statement of fact about the plaintiff that caused the plaintiff harm and that the defendant did so with actual malice. The judge has already concluded that Dominion has proved much of its case and that Fox News cannot avail itself of the specific First Amendment defenses it sought to use as an excuse to escape liability for its torrent of lies.
Dominion has only one element of a defamation case left to prove at trial: that Fox News and its hosts and guests acted with actual malice. In…
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