Dominion vs. Fox News Trial Delayed Until Tuesday

Facts

• On Sunday, the Delaware Superior Court judge overseeing Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News announced the start of the trial would be postponed from Monday to Tuesday. Judge Eric Davis didn’t provide a reason for the delay.¹
• During brief proceedings Monday, Davis said postponing the start of the trial was “not unusual.” When the trial over the $1.6B lawsuit commences Tuesday, the jury will be selected and opening statements will follow.²
• Fox has reportedly made a late push to settle the case without going to trial.³
• It will be up to a jury to determine if statements aired on Fox News were made with “actual malice” — a standard defined as knowingly making false statements with reckless disregard for the truth.⁴
• Fox has attempted to defend against Dominion’s accusations by fashioning its claims about election fraud as reporting what newsmakers, including Trump, were saying.³
• Dominion argues Fox executives were aware the claims of election fraud were false but didn’t stop them because they had a positive impact on ratings and revenue.⁵

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²CNN, ³Wall Street Journal, ⁴CBS and ⁵Forbes.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by PJ Media. The left’s assault on the First Amendment is unrelenting and it’s up to those who know the importance of free speech in the US to defend against attacks like this lawsuit. If Dominion prevails, media organizations and publishers would be liable for anything guests on their platforms say or write. Hopefully, this case will go down in flames like the radical left’s previous attempts to curtail free speech.
• Left narrative, as provided by CNN. Free speech is not limitless, and the judge, in this case, has already taken the rare step of declaring all the statements in question were false, so Dominion just needs to prove “actual malice.” The political right might build its business model around selling false narratives to its supporters, but cases like this are part of the accountability infrastructure that ensures truth in reporting and an accurately informed citizenry.