Originally Posted by
Kirkland Laing
Originally Posted by
TitoFan
Originally Posted by
Master
Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit from the voting machine company, Dominion, over its reporting of the 2020 presidential election.
In a last-minute settlement before trial, the network agreed to pay $787.5m (£634m) - about half of the $1.6bn initially sought by Dominion.
Dominion argued its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims the vote had been rigged against Donald Trump.
The deal spares Fox executives such as Rupert Murdoch from having to testify.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65318654
I think Fox got off easy. Dominion should've held their feet to the fire.
The biggest judgement ever in a defamation case was about $220 million. But then it was vacated on appeal and the people on the hook, Dow Jones newspapers didn't have to pay a dollar of the award. This is something Dominion were well aware of. Even if they'd won a billion dollar judgement then it stood s huge chance of being drastically reduced or quashed entirely by a higher court, and as you go up the appeals system in America the courts get more and more pro corporate/big business/big guy over the little guy culminating in the Supreme Court which is comically so. Dominion is owned by a private equity firm. It has revenues, not profits, of about a hundred million dollars a year and profits of a few million. The total value of every asset the private equity fund own is less than a billion dollars, so this judgement basically doubled their net worth overnight. There was no way they could turn it down.
It would have been nice to have six weeks of bombshells about what was going on behind the scenes at Fox but it wouldn't have made any difference. People who aren't Fox viewers are looking at it and thinking what they're thinking. Fox viewers, to the extent they're hearing anything from conservative media by and large don't want to know about it or think about it. They need their safe space, media that will tell them what they want to hear regardless of reality so they don't want to hear anything bad about Fox. They need a source of new they can trust to lie to them. Fox can only lose them by telling them the truth which is how they ended up having to pay out what will eventually be a couple of billion dollars, because when they started telling them the truth about the election the viewers deserted them for Newsmax and One America and Fox had to start lying about Dominion and other shit to get them to come back.
I know Dominion's gotta do what's best for Dominion... and good for them. Plus if what you say is true about the higher courts and how they side with big business... it probably wasn't worth the risk. You never can tell how courts are going to rule in specific cases... but again, can't fault Dominion for taking the money.
But... I'm gonna have to disagree on your take on what viewers on both sides would've reacted like, had Fox been dragged over the coals on this one.
We both are of similar mindsets when it comes to the American public, for the most part. All I gotta do is think about the fanbases of aliens like MTG, Boebert, Graham, and others... to see that many people are beyond hope when it comes to rational thought. But in an ideal situation where Fox's lies had been laid bare for all to see... I'm sorry. Even the most moronic of fanatical zombies would've had something stir in their minds. Yes... I still remember when Sean Spicer said with a straight face that Trump's inaugural crowd was larger than Obama's... so I'm well aware of some people's ability to look at a white wall and insist that it's black. But DAMN... an ideal situation judicial process, where Fox's blatant lies were exposed over and over again... and judgments were handed down... that's the sort of reality you just can't wish away.
I say all that... then visions pop into my mind where some GOP lawmakers insisted on live television that January 6th had been a peaceful stroll to the Capitol.
So although I'm arguing a point... my heart's not entirely IN it.
All we can hope for is that Smartmatic's lawsuit goes as well (or better) than Dominion's... and that Fox News can be damaged beyond repair. Meanwhile... some of Trump's high profile Minions like Giuliani, and that clown with the pillow company can get raked over the coals as well.
Gotta spread the love.
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