DE - Dominion Voting Systems vs. Fox News, $1.6B Defamation Trial for 2020 election lies, 17 Apr 2023 *Settled $787m* + add’l trials

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Auntie Cipation said:
I'm not a journalist, but I am aware of some of the conventions that I thought were universally agreed upon in that field, such as getting two independent confirmations of something before reporting it as factual, remembering to label things "alleged" or "accused" until facts are known, etc.

This seems like it's also the underlying basis for WS's rules about stating something is opinion if there is no MSM link, because we (generic cultural we, not WS specifically) have become linguistically lazy about shortcutting our sentences and phrasing things as if they are given fact when they are actually subjective opinions or assumptions of fact.

I was taught years ago to "always state your assumptions" -- that doesn't mean don't say something, but it means be clear when something is known factually vs when it's not but you are assuming it for the purpose of the conversation, vs when you are saying something subjective, ie opinion, values, beliefs etc.

But then I'm generally pedantic so it makes sense to me to notice those details. I understand language evolving and cultural shortcuts, but then when we become culturally divided by whether X tangible thing actually happened or not, or when someone claims there is "evidence" but never produces it, but nevertheless expects people to believe it exists (as if the mere claim is the evidence itself), we have allowed our casual use of language to develop into a much more serious problem where people decide who to trust based on their politics rather than based on their factual expertise.

MOO
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Great comment!
 
$787.... Imagine the machine you have to be to afford that and quite possibly (in some corners of the org) be seen as money well spent.
 
While the well-resourced Fox might be able to afford another large settlement, smaller outlets such as Newsmax and OAN may not be able to weather similar legal storms. Both are also facing lawsuits from Dominion and Smartmatic.

The company belonging to election denier and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was forced to file for bankruptcy last year following a slew of defamation cases.

"I think we're beginning to see situations where plaintiffs are holding defendants accountable. I think judges, juries and the public are alert to falsehoods," Mr Tobias [law professor at the University of Richmond] said.

www.bbc.com

After $787.5m Dominion settlement, what's next for Fox?

Fox may have to balance costly legal battles with a desire not to alienate its pro-Trump audience.
www.bbc.com
 
musicaljoke said:
<modsnip: Quoted post was removed> ... Many of us here are from countries with several parties and lean in ways other than left or right. Supporting a political party does not mean that one also supports criminal activity within that party.
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Slightly off topic, but I think its helpful to Americans to hear from people who live in countries where the norm is to have multiple political parties. In recent years, many Americans have adopted the idea that anything more than two political parties is "dangerous" or "radical".
 
www.independent.co.uk

From Rudy Giuliani to Newsmax, everyone Dominion is suing for election lies

Dominion has pending lawsuits against right-wing networks Newsmax and OAN, and Trump allies Mike Lindell, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, writes Bevan Hurley
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

Here’s everyone who is being sued by Dominion:

Mike Lindell

At rallies, television appearances, in a 90-minute “documentary” called Absolute Proof and on the streaming service he self-funds, Mr Lindell repeated widely debunked claims that Dominion had been infiltrated by a vast and ever-changing cast of ne'er-do-wells to commit voter fraud.

By February 2021, Dominion had had enough, and filed a damages claim seeking $1.3bn from the pillow salesman.

The lawsuit alleged that Mr Lindell had “knowingly lied about Dominion to sell more pillows to people who continued tuning in to hear what they wanted to hear about the election”.

Fox News eventually banned him from the network, even though he was a top advertiser.

In court filings in the Dominion case, Fox’s lawyers admitted to knowing he was not a reliable source of information when he appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show in January 2021.

Mr Lindell has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but his efforts to have the civil action dismissed have been unsuccessful.

In a ruling in the District of Columbia District Court in August 2021, Judge Carl Nicholas wrote: “In addition to alleging that Lindell’s claims are inherently improbable, that his sources are unreliable, and that he has failed to acknowledge the validity of countervailing evidence, Dominion has alleged numerous instances in which Lindell told audiences to purchase MyPillow products after making his claims of election fraud and providing MyPillow promotional codes related to those theories.”

Then in October 2022, Mr Lindell’s appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Mr Lindell appears completely undeterred by the legal setbacks.

In March, he called on Dominion to “show us what’s inside your machines?”

According to the New York Times, he described Dominion’s lawsuit as “the biggest cover-up for the biggest crime in United States history — probably in world history.”

Dominion’s attorneys will likely be keeping tabs on his public statements.


Sidney Powell

As a member of former president Trump’s so-called “Elite Strike Force” legal team, Ms Powell promised she would “release the Kraken” – referring to a legendary sea monster – in an interview with Fox Business days after the November election.

The Dallas-based former federal prosecutor helped to file a slew of lawsuits that challenged the election results, all of which failed.

Her inflammatory public statements about election rigging, bribery and fraud led Dominion to file a $1.3bn defamation claim in January 2021.

“Powell’s statements were calculated to — and did in fact — provoke outrage and cause Dominion enormous harm,” an attorney for Dominion wrote in the lawsuit.

Dominion alleged in the lawsuit that Ms Powell had used the profile gained from media appearances to raise money through a company called Defending the Republic, which is also named as a defendant in the suit.

Ms Powell tweeted in response that the claims were designed to “harass, intimidate, & to drain our resources as we seek the truth of #DominionVotingSystems' role in this fraudulent election”.


Rudy Giuliani

With hair dye dripping down the side of his face, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed Dominion had used Venezuelan technology, approved by the late Hugo Chavez, and supported by Cuba and China, to rig the 2020 presidential election.

The comical scene at a press conference in mid-November 2020 was part of “a viral disinformation campaign about Dominion,” the company alleged in a $1.3bn lawsuit filed two months later.

Dominion’s attorneys again claimed that Mr Giuliani had been motivated by financial gain as he made false election fraud accusations in media appearances, on Twitter and his YouTube show.

Mr Giuliani had “cashed in by hosting a podcast where he exploited election falsehoods to market gold coins, supplements, cigars and protection from ‘cyberthieves,’” Dominion’s attorneys wrote.

Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a statement that even the family and friends of its employees were among those who were duped by the avalanche of lies.

Mr Giuliani responded that he welcomed Dominion’s lawsuit as it would allow him to “investigate their history, finances and practices fully and completely”.

Newsmax

After the 2020 election, the Chris Ruddy-owned right-wing news channel Newsmax saw its market share increase as it refused to acknowledge Mr Biden’s victory and hosted a string of election-denying conspiracists.

In doing so, Newsmax “helped create and cultivate an alternate reality where up is down, pigs have wings, and Dominion engaged in a colossal fraud to steal the presidency from Donald Trump by rigging the vote”, Dominion said in a $1.6bn lawsuit filed in August 2021.

“For Ruddy and Newsmax, the facts did not matter. What mattered was feeding the audience what it wanted — even if it was spreading false information. And the race to the bottom began in earnest, dragging Dominion down with it,” the lawsuit argued.

In June last year, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis denied Newsmax’s motion to dismiss and ruled the lawsuit could proceed.

In a statement to ABC News, a Newsmax spokesman said it was confident of defending the case under First Amendment protections.

“Newsmax reported on both sides in the election dispute without making any claim about the results other than saying they were ‘legal and final,’” the statement said.


One America News (OAN)

Dominion filed a $1.6bn lawsuit against One America News in August 2021, claiming that, like Newsmax, the San Diego-based cable channel had “spread false and manufactured stories about election fraud”.

“Dominion quickly became the focus of this downward spiral of lies, as each broadcaster attempted to outdo the others by making the lies more outrageous, spreading them further, and endorsing them as strongly as possible,” the suit alleged.

It also named OAN hosts Chanel Rion and Christina Bobb in the lawsuit, accusing them of fuelling election conspiracies.

In February, OAN filed a countersuit alleging “tortious interference” with its business.

Patrick Byrne

In August 2021, Dominion filed a defamation lawsuit against former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne for spreading election conspiracies, alongside suits against OAN and Newsmax.

It alleged that Mr Byrne had “manufactured and promoted fake evidence to convince the world that the 2020 election had been stolen as part of a massive international conspiracy among China, Venezuelan and Spanish companies”, along with the Justice Department and Chief Justice John Roberts.

“We are filing these three cases today because the defendants named show no remorse, nor any sign they intend to stop spreading disinformation,” Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a statement at the time.

Mr Byrne lost a bid to have the case dismissed in April 2022.
 
ilovewings said:
Let's face it, most of us are probably disappointed with the settlement. We were looking forward to seeing Fox anchors squirming on the stand while trying to defend their lies on the witness stand. We wanted to see them stammer when emails were shown to them on cross examination that showed they were lying to their viewers when they screamed the election was rigged, knowing that was a big fat lie! So we are denied that

You can't blame Dominion for settling: the standard for success in a defamation lawsuit is very very high- and even if they won Fox would have appealed and held up any verdict award for years.

Still, I will miss seeing those liars squirm------ oh well-----
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It's our job, the American people, to get the fairness doctrine updated to include all media communication and reinstated as law. Up hill battle because they have a 40 year head start.:( I lost a much loved and intelligent family member to propaganda from Fox. Watched it live. In 2014 Putin was our enemy... to 2015 forward...He's not so bad and they are picking in TFP. From what I am reading that is what happened with the shooting in Kansas City. That was just a few blocks from my house. Shameful what a 24/7 diet of hate and loathing will do. :mad:
 
Lilibet said:
With all due respect @RANCH, it is not a “mistake” to deliberately promote falsehoods as Fox did about Dominion facilitating a “stolen election.” These “overall good people,” Tucker Carlson and the rest that were quoted, chose lies over truth because doing so catered to their viewers and to Fox’s bottom line. That was not a “mistake.” It was not “good.” It was unethical, cynical and dishonest no matter how you slice and dice it. Surely you read the behind-the-scenes texts admitting they knew the “stolen election” was all a Big Lie. So IMO people should seriously question how trustworthy Fox is. But they won’t because they want to believe the lies IMO.

And just for the record, I would say the same thing no matter which news organization a lawsuit had been brought against if they had been spewing deliberate falsehoods causing harm to others. We have to be discerning about what we are taking in…is it news or is it propaganda? Are we gullible or are we willing to make an effort to find out if what we are being told (sold) is the truth or lies.
JMO
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well said...
 
ilovewings said:
I consider that what Fox does is evil: they lie lie lie and knowingly lied about a stolen election (that wasn't); they contributed to the hate and ugliness that resulted in an insurrection that threatened and continues to threaten the very democratic fabric of our country.
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Wouldn’t that make Fox traitors? IMO
 
Sillybilly said:
ADMIN NOTE:

FOX News / FOX National is no longer an approved source at Websleuths.

This is not to be confused with local FOX affiliates that are are still okay to link to.

Any questions, please use the Report feature to enquire.

Thanks :)
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And this is why Websleuths is consistently a cut above the rest. You saw the proof and did the right thing. MOO
 

Media scion Lachlan Murdoch has discontinued his Federal Court defamation proceedings against online news outlet Crikey, just days after Fox News settled a US defamation suit brought by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems for $1.17 billion.

Murdoch’s lawyer, John Churchill, said in a statement on Friday that a notice of discontinuance had been filed in the Federal Court.

In the latest iteration of its defence to Murdoch jnr’s defamation claim, Crikey’s publisher Private Media had alleged the chief executive of Fox Corporation and co-chairman of News Corp was “morally and ethically” culpable for the deadly 2021 US Capitol riots.

Private Media was attempting to use testimony by Lachlan Murdoch and his media mogul father Rupert in Dominion Voting Systems’ US lawsuit as part of its defence to the Australian case.
 
TootsieFootsie said:

Media scion Lachlan Murdoch has discontinued his Federal Court defamation proceedings against online news outlet Crikey, just days after Fox News settled a US defamation suit brought by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems for $1.17 billion.

Murdoch’s lawyer, John Churchill, said in a statement on Friday that a notice of discontinuance had been filed in the Federal Court.

In the latest iteration of its defence to Murdoch jnr’s defamation claim, Crikey’s publisher Private Media had alleged the chief executive of Fox Corporation and co-chairman of News Corp was “morally and ethically” culpable for the deadly 2021 US Capitol riots.

Private Media was attempting to use testimony by Lachlan Murdoch and his media mogul father Rupert in Dominion Voting Systems’ US lawsuit as part of its defence to the Australian case.
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I just heard that on the radio news as I was coming home!
Fox lawyer said Crikey had adjusted its defence to include things revealed in the Dominion lawsuit.

Thanks, Dominion, for proving that Fox knowingly lied about the election. :)


"We are proud of our stand. We are proud to have exposed the hypocrisy and abuse of power of a media billionaire.
This is a victory for free speech. We won."
(Statement on Crikey's website today ... crikey.com.au)
 
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SouthAussie said:
I just heard that on the radio news as I was coming home!
Fox lawyer said Crikey had adjusted its defence to include things revealed in the Dominion lawsuit.

Thanks, Dominion, for proving that Fox knowingly lied about the election. :)


"We are proud of our stand. We are proud to have exposed the hypocrisy and abuse of power of a media billionaire.
This is a victory for free speech. We won."
(Statement on Crikey's website today ... crikey.com.au)
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BBM. That, they did.

The Murdochs are showing us that they are NOT the brightest bulbs in the marquee. I'm stunned at their stupidity.

Private Media took down the article the day after it was published after legal threats from Lachlan Murdoch but has since republished the article "as part of a series about this legal threat and about how media power works in Australia." The lawsuit was ultimately filed in August.

Lachlan's lawyer John Churchill on Friday filed a notice in Australia's federal court system noting that Murdoch "discontinues the whole of the proceedings," The Guardian reported.

 

Hours before Lachlan Murdoch dropped his defamation case against Crikey, the ABC dropped its own reaction to Fox News and Dominion reaching a $787.5m settlement over US election lies.

In a move which could be interpreted as the public broadcaster thumbing its nose at News Corporation and the local media watchdog, Four Corners will re-broadcast Sarah Ferguson’s spicy documentary Fox and the Big Lie on Monday.

“Fox will no longer be scrutinised through a trial, so this is the complete story,” the ABC said

This is a bold move because the two-part doco infuriated News Corp Australia and Fox News, and triggered an unprecedented 45 articles in local papers. The Australian called it a “full-frontal hit job on Rupert Murdoch, News Corp and the US Fox News channel”




This is ABC Australia.
 
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