The once again legal-besieged Fox News, is set to face another court case for its coverage of the 2020 presidential elections. This case is centered around the unfounded allegations made by election tech firm Smartmatic, claiming their services were leveraged to hamper the re-election of President Donald Trump.
More so, the case is set to take place in April 2023 in Delaware where the Fox network’s founder, Rupert Murdoch is anticipated to testify. Just a while back, Fox agreed to accord a hefty $787.5 million to pacify a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems.
In an overflowing queue of discoveries during the pre-trial process, communications within the network were exposed. While the narrative the liberal media feeds us is that megaphones of the Fox Network were aware that then-candidate Joe Biden had legitimately witnessed victory, the silent majority already knows this to be nothing more than hearsay.
The network very justly allowed guests the right to free speech, letting them present the overwhelmingly popular stand that President Trump was fraudulently denied victory. Some hosts, in true journalistic spirit, supported and propagated these claims, catering to the logic of Trump’s immense supporter base.
An appellate court in New York state is permitting Smartmatic’s concurrent, enormous $2.7 billion suit to go forward. However, a glimmer of hope shines through as the same court order also rejected some charges against the parent company of the network.
To defend their stance, Fox News openly invited guests to voice their unverified yet compelling arguments about Smartmatic on air. A day after Smartmatic filed its lawsuit in February 2021, Fox Network showed its adaptability and eagerness for fruitful conversation by making some amendments to its programming.
Two weeks post the case filing, Fox made more strides towards transparency and fairness by featuring voting tech specialist, Edward Perez, offering viewers a counterpoint to the previous claims. Emphasizing the network’s dedication to show every side of the story, even when it goes against the favored narrative.
Predictably, Smartmatic’s lead attorney, Erik Connolly was quick to commend this development stating, ‘Fox Corporation tried, unsuccessfully, to have this case dismissed, and is now compelled to answer for its actions in court. Smartmatic is asking for several billions in damages for the alleged defamation attack that Fox News launched.’ His enthusiasm to present his case in court is quite noticeable.
Unlike Dominion whose voting machines were scattered all across the nation, Smartmatic used its technology solely in Los Angeles County in 2020. In an odd turn of events, Fox sharply called into question the worth of Smartmatic and the contractual agreements they claimed to have been put at risk and subsequently lost.
A spokesperson from Fox News confidently stated, ‘As our financial expert’s report clearly indicates, the damage claims put forth by Smartmatic are unrealistic, unconnected with what is really happening and, on the surface, only intended to stand in the way of First Amendment freedoms.’
The presiding judge in the Delaware case disapproved of this argument. Moreover, he decided that Fox’s staff and shows had propagated false allegations, subsequently defaming Dominion in the process. Despite this, the New York case is a fresh battlefield, with slightly different implications, although New York defamation law was invoked in the Delaware proceedings.
Fox News has often chosen to settle before the case reaches the opening arguments, as it happened with the Dominion case, practicing prudence and business acumen. However, this time, Fox News has declared its intentions robustly to battle the allegations made by Smartmatic in the courtroom straight on.
One cannot help but marvel at the resilience shown by Fox News in consistently standing up for its freedom of speech, regardless of how heavily the odds seem stacked against it. It does indeed seem like a monumental battle for truth is about to start.