Giavanna Torchio '25
Recent court case filings have been released about the ongoing $1.6 billion dollar defamation lawsuit against Fox News. Many newly discovered messages between the hosts on the show and their producers expose their true feelings about the situation. Dominion originally filed a lawsuit against Fox News in 2021 for profiting off of misinformation. The claims that Dominion essentially rigged the votes have been ongoing, with new evidence emerging to pin more blame on Fox News's cooperation.
This new evidence seems to prove that the hosts on the show knew that the claims were false yet continued to spread them. This evidence included text messages, especially from one of the star hosts Tucker Carlson, who has evidently said that he “passionately hates” former president Donald Trump. Meanwhile, his time on the show seemingly tells us the opposite.
More texts to his coworkers say things like, “He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong,” and, “If you don't have conclusive evidence of fraud at that scale it’s a cruel and reckless thing to keep saying.”
The network alleged that the company disclosed many of the texts and emails without full context, but its hosts' thoughts on the topic are quite clear.
There was a hearing in Wilmington, Del., where lawyers for Fox News and Dominion both pushed the judge, Eric M. Davis of the Delaware Superior Court, to rule on the case without a jury. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 17.
The lawsuit poses a sizable threat to Fox News' business and reputation. Dominion must prove that Fox knowingly broadcasted false information about the company, or disregarded evidence that the claims were untrue. While defamation cases have traditionally proved hard to win, some legal experts say Dominion may have enough evidence to clear that high bar.
コメント