Fox News Lies, Defamation, and Slander. But Is it Malice?

In March of 2021, Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News Network.

This is from that $1.6 Billion lawsuit.

"Dominion contends that: (i) Fox intentionally provided a platform for guests that Fox’s hosts knew would make false and defamatory statements of fact on the air; (ii) Fox, through Fox’s hosts, affirmed, endorsed, repeated, and agreed with those guests’ statements; and (iii) Fox republished those defamatory and false statements of fact on the air, Fox’s websites, Fox’s social media accounts, and Fox’s other digital platforms and subscription services. Dominion seeks punitive and economic damages for defamation per se."

At the center of this lawsuit is the "Big Lie." Even though there was no evidence of voter fraud or faulty voting machines, Trump supporters, including Fox News, repeated the lie again and again. 

Dominion attempted to set the record straight, but Fox continued the lie. This caused Dominion to lose millions of dollars in business, damaged its reputation, and resulted in death threats.

The First Amendment, Freedom of the Press, protects News Corporations. The bar to prove that News organizations commit defamation or slander is very high. It was set with a Supreme Court Ruling, "The New York Times v. Sullivan." 

Dominion lawyers must prove that Fox News acted with Malice in this lawsuit. Some; legal experts are predicting Dominion could win.