It’s not the most pressing story, though liberals were following every update since Fox News was the subject of a $1.6 billion lawsuit by Dominion Systems. This case stretches back to the 2020 election, where Fox News was accused of defaming the company whose election machines have been at the center of the rigging allegations. The preliminary depositions were brutal, so liberal America was anticipating a court battle, where their arch-nemesis—Fox News—would be humiliated. That didn’t happen. As Spencer noted, the case was settled before opening arguments to the tune of $787 million for Dominion:
In a statement, Fox News Media said on Tuesday:
We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.
What the actual f*ck. The Judge just announced that Dominion has SETTLED its case with Fox and that the case has been resolved. This was a terrible decision by Dominion to settle — both for justice and for our democracy. Goddamnit.
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) April 18, 2023
CNN's Oliver Darcy is visibly upset that Fox and Dominion settled out of court.
— Bill D'Agostino (@Banned_Bill) April 18, 2023
“This trial would have really put Fox on trial... There were a lot of people that wanted this process to take place… This was also really, to some extent, a trial built about, made about democracy.” pic.twitter.com/YUcNAUd8Qd
Yet, liberals were not pleased, hoping for a bruising fight that they saw as potentially being the death knell for the network. CNN’s Jake Tapper went further, smearing Fox News as “not a journalistic organization” but one that chases ratings. Two words, Jake: Nick Sandmann. If anyone needs a refresher, CNN defamed a high school kid for ratings. The lawsuit was settled in 2020 (via Reuters):
CNN has settled with a Kentucky teenager who sued the network for defamation over its coverage of his encounter with a Native American at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington a year ago.
The amount of the settlement between Nick Sandmann and CNN was not disclosed. A CNN spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed the settlement in a statement emailed to Reuters, but declined to comment on the details.
Sandmann said on Twitter: “Yes. We settled with CNN”.
Sandmann had sought $275 million in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Kentucky after he said the network falsely conveyed to its viewers that he was “the face of an unruly mob” facing Nathan Phillips, an American Indian activist.
The Jan. 18, 2019 encounter was captured in photos and on video and went viral, generating widespread media coverage.
The images depicted Sandmann staring and smiling at Phillips as the activist sung and beat a drum, and triggered outrage on social media with some viewers saying it appeared Sandmann was mocking Phillips.
The lawsuit said CNN falsely accused Sandmann and the other students of “engaging in racist conduct” without properly investigating the incident.
Talk about a ‘people living in glass houses and not throwing rocks’ situation.
Fox News responded to Tapper's remark: "We can’t look at CNN’s awful ratings without laughing, and we’re sure Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders feel the same way.”
Tapper Fox News is "not a journalistic organization" but rather "just chasing ratings" and it "doesn't really matter what they say."
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 18, 2023
Meanwhile, that perfectly describes Jeff Zucker's tenure at CNN and during the Trump years. pic.twitter.com/n3bqEBTcVq