In a last-minute agreement, Fox News reached a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, putting an end to a two-year legal battle that publicly damaged the network’s credibility.
The payout is the largest publicly known defamation settlement involving a media company in US history.
The settlement was announced hours after the jury was sworn in at the Delaware Superior Court. The deal means that Fox executives and on-air personalities will avoid testifying about their 2020 election coverage that was filled with lies about voter fraud.
The agreement also deprives Dominion of a chance to further expose Fox’s dishonesty with a weeks-long trial.
The settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to journalistic standards, according to the network.
However, Fox News is still facing a second major defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, and Dominion still has pending lawsuits against other right-wing TV networks and Trump allies.
