Fox settled with Dominican Voting Systems for $787.5 million as the defamation lawsuit was just underway. Fox released a statement acknowledging “…the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false” but is not expected to be required to issue an a correction or apology for broadcasting lies about election-rigging during the 2020 presidential election. (Reuters, April 18, 2023, by Helen Coster and Jack Queen)
Law professor Catherine Ross says that with the settlement an opportunity was lost to clarify the line between protected speech under the First Amendment and calculated lying. Evidence found in discovery showed that Fox hosts did not believe the stolen election lies advanced in their broadcasts. Ross thinks there is now no protection from lies in elections and public debates. (The Washington Post, April 18, 2023, by Mathew Brown)