We awoke this morning, Monday, with news that the defamation trial by Dominion Systems against Fox News was delayed for a day (at least) while the sides discussed a settlement.
This is the 'playing chicken' portion of litigation that comes naturally; one side believes the other is bluffing and won't really want to carry out its attempts at trial when all the information (finally, because it takes time) comes in. Just being mad doesn't mean you'll win.
Besides, Dominion must prove that Fox News committed libelousness to an extent that matches that standard put into motion by the 1964 case of New York Times v. Sullivan--that is, that Fox not only published (broadcast) information that it knew was false, it never apologized or later corrected itself--an act of negligence defined as journalistic 'malice.' Fox would put out there that its discussions of the 2020 presidential campaign were well within the public interest; that yes, many of its commentaries may not have been based on fact; but the Sullivan standard allows that to take place and guarantees the widest possible range of analysis, especially since this is about the number one political figure we elect ro represent us.
Because of the nature of the coverage and the subject, libel suits are and ought to be tough to win. But Dominion has lots of e-mails and text messages to back its charges up, as we have learned in past weeks. It can readily prove that major players in the Fox realm, including its owner, Rupert Murdoch, wanted to put the Big Lie of the stolen election out there anyhow, since it feared it would lose viewers who clung onto hopes of an ex- victory, and some in fact still do.
To do that, someone had to add fuel to ex-'s false scenario in which he actually won but was gypped out of it. Fox gladly did so. It tried to say that Dominion's voting machines had either erred in its count (only in some states, not in others), or there was the sneaking possibility that someone had rigged its ability to make an accurate count--what amounted to intentional sabotage. That is election fraud, a punishable crime. Fox didn't blame anybody else in traceable ways; it blamed only Dominion (based on several looney-tune lawyers' bogus claims). But it knew from the start that those claims were wrong. Yet, it went on broadcasting them without adjustment or apology.
Fox lied. It lied over and over again. It knew it was lying. It didn't care that it was lying. All it knew is that it would lose viewers, and thus advertisers, and plenty of revenue, if it admitted the truth. So it kept on lying. It completely abrogated its responsibility to the public. It did the American people a thorough disservice.
There may not be a trial to show this. At the (expectedly; thus the game of 'chicken') last minute, Fox now wants to sit down with Dominion and discuss terms. Of course, there would be non-disclosure issues. So we may never know the extent of Fox's utter lack of due diligence. We don't know who called who to get this ball rolling. But unless news reports about this are entirely misleading (like Fox's attempt to smear Dominion), it had to be Fox that's waving the white flag of parlay.
Fox will pay heavily, and it knows that. It's being sued for $1.6 billion. Even if it settles for less, that's not pocket change. The interesting details will come from any statement that emanates from the discussions and settlement. Fox might be coerced, upon pain of public trial, to admit it had lied. We'll see.
Whether all this goes to trial or not, it's now our job to do what must be done: Smear Fox back. Call it out.
That means: Don't wait for it to come up in a conversation over drinks or dinner or watching the news. Bring it up yourself. Keep saying that Fox can't be trusted about anything. Spread doubt about its integrity now and forever. There will be those who still won't listen, who are stubborn for its own sake. Dare them to refute the facts which have been revealed. Dare them to show you another news outlet that got something wrong but refused to apologize. They won't do it because they can't.
Fox's gold-plated arrogance must be recalled in any and all conversations about journalistic integrity. News outlets get things wrong every so often; it comes with the territory of aggressive coverage. But when they do--except for Fox--they apologize and make corrections when and where appropriate. That was the standard that the Sullivan case forwarded, and that's been the standard by which all have operated. Until now. Until Fox.
There have been articles written that warn that the Dominion v. Fox case will cause more lawsuits against media. I'm not sure if they will catch fire, though. Fox had to act egregiously in order for things to get this far. Not long ago, Sarah Palin tried to advance a suit against the New York Times for an error it made that made her look quite bad several years ago. Despite the backing of huge funding by ultra-conservative groups with a long-standing grudge against the Times, she got nowhere because the Times had apologized, and sincerely so.
And that's the difference. Fox had plenty of opportunity to correct itself. It preferred not to, branding Dominion as dishonest by implication.
Nobody likes being called that, especially if it isn't true. Fox can now be called dishonest with absolute verification. This might actually be fun. Let's not forget it.
Be well. Be careful. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.
Mister Mark
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