Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News continues to move forward, with a trial set to begin in April 2023. The lawsuit, which seeks $1.6 billion in damages, alleges that Fox News knowingly spread false information about Dominion to boost ratings. The case will focus on two legal issues: the fault standard and opinion protections.
The fault standard requires a plaintiff to prove that a libelous statement was published with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Dominion has been deemed a public figure in the case, which means they must prove that Fox acted with actual malice. The court has already held that Dominion has adequately pleaded as much in pretrial motions.
Dominion is also seeking to prove that Fox personnel knew they were airing false statements or aired them with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity. Reckless disregard requires proof of a high degree of awareness of a statement’s probable falsity. Dominion is investigating whether Fox sources were reliable, whether Fox ignored clear signs that statements were wrong, whether they adequately investigated the facts, and what motives shaped the statements.
Fox News argues that its coverage was merely opinion and hyperbole rather than fact. However, stating an opinion does not provide wholesale defamation exemption for anything that might be labelled as opinion. The difficulty is distinguishing statements of opinion and hyperbole from those of fact. For any opinions based on stated facts, the facts must be accurately presented and reasonably interpreted.
Assuming there is a trial, it would take place at a time when disinformation in politics is of increasing concern. Libel law is being weaponized nationwide to score points and extract revenge on critics. The Dominion case has more merit than other politically motivated suits, which recently targeted CNN and Esquire in response to critical commentaries about former congressman Devin Nunes. It may reshape the Conservative media landscape by delimiting some political discourse and news coverage of false statements and by encouraging news organizations, particularly cable television networks, to be more cautious with their live programming and guests.
Original Story at www.vanityfair.com – 2022-09-22 07:00:00