<p><em>Fox News</em> abruptly agreed on Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to resolve a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s promotion of misinformation about the 2020 election, averting a lengthy and embarrassing trial just as a packed courtroom was seated in anticipation of hearing opening statements.</p>.<p>The settlement, one of the largest ever in a defamation case, was the latest extraordinary twist in a case that has been full of remarkable disclosures that exposed the inner workings of the most powerful voice in conservative news.</p>.<p><strong>Also read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/fox-news-fires-producer-who-accused-network-of-coercion-1204232.html" target="_blank">Fox news fires producer who accused network of coercion</a></strong></p>.<p>In addition to the huge financial price, Dominion exacted a difficult admission from <em>Fox News</em>, which acknowledged in a statement that “certain claims” it made about Dominion were false.</p>.<p>“The truth matters. Lies have consequences,” Justin Nelson, a lawyer for Dominion, said outside Delaware Superior Court on Tuesday.</p>.<p>The settlement spares <em>Fox </em>a trial that would have gone on for weeks and put many of the company’s most prominent figures — from media mogul Rupert Murdoch to hosts like Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo — on the stand.</p>.<p>The case held the potential to make public a stream of damaging information about how the network told its audience a story of fraud and interference in the 2020 presidential election that many of its own executives and on-screen personalities did not believe. And the network was not forced to apologize — a concession that Dominion lawyers had sought, lawyers involved in the case said.</p>.<p>Dominion sued two years ago, after <em>Fox </em>aired false stories claiming that Dominion’s voting machines were susceptible to hacking and had flipped votes from President Donald Trump to Joe Biden. On Tuesday, the company expressed a sense of exoneration about the large financial cost that <em>Fox </em>will have to pay. While Dominion’s suit asked for damages of $1.6 billion, almost double the settlement figure, the company will avoid many years of appeals that could have trimmed or eliminated any payout from a trial.</p>.<p>“Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country,” Nelson said. “Today’s settlement of $787.5 million represents vindication and accountability.”</p>
<p><em>Fox News</em> abruptly agreed on Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to resolve a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s promotion of misinformation about the 2020 election, averting a lengthy and embarrassing trial just as a packed courtroom was seated in anticipation of hearing opening statements.</p>.<p>The settlement, one of the largest ever in a defamation case, was the latest extraordinary twist in a case that has been full of remarkable disclosures that exposed the inner workings of the most powerful voice in conservative news.</p>.<p><strong>Also read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/fox-news-fires-producer-who-accused-network-of-coercion-1204232.html" target="_blank">Fox news fires producer who accused network of coercion</a></strong></p>.<p>In addition to the huge financial price, Dominion exacted a difficult admission from <em>Fox News</em>, which acknowledged in a statement that “certain claims” it made about Dominion were false.</p>.<p>“The truth matters. Lies have consequences,” Justin Nelson, a lawyer for Dominion, said outside Delaware Superior Court on Tuesday.</p>.<p>The settlement spares <em>Fox </em>a trial that would have gone on for weeks and put many of the company’s most prominent figures — from media mogul Rupert Murdoch to hosts like Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo — on the stand.</p>.<p>The case held the potential to make public a stream of damaging information about how the network told its audience a story of fraud and interference in the 2020 presidential election that many of its own executives and on-screen personalities did not believe. And the network was not forced to apologize — a concession that Dominion lawyers had sought, lawyers involved in the case said.</p>.<p>Dominion sued two years ago, after <em>Fox </em>aired false stories claiming that Dominion’s voting machines were susceptible to hacking and had flipped votes from President Donald Trump to Joe Biden. On Tuesday, the company expressed a sense of exoneration about the large financial cost that <em>Fox </em>will have to pay. While Dominion’s suit asked for damages of $1.6 billion, almost double the settlement figure, the company will avoid many years of appeals that could have trimmed or eliminated any payout from a trial.</p>.<p>“Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country,” Nelson said. “Today’s settlement of $787.5 million represents vindication and accountability.”</p>