Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News settled their defamation lawsuit on April 18, 2023, for $787.5 million, the largest known media defamation settlement in American history. The Dominion v. Fox News settlement resolved claims that Fox had repeatedly aired false conspiracy theories accusing Dominion’s voting machines of flipping votes in the 2020 presidential election. Fox paid the money but did not admit wrongdoing, issue an on-air correction, or apologize.
What Dominion Sued Over
Dominion filed suit against Fox News Network in Delaware Superior Court on March 26, 2021, seeking $1.6 billion in compensatory damages. A second action against parent company Fox Corporation followed on November 8, 2021, and the two cases were consolidated in December 2022.1Delaware Courts. US Dominion Inc. v. Fox News Network, Summary Judgment Opinion
The complaint focused on Fox’s repeated broadcasts of claims that Dominion machines had rigged the election for Joe Biden. Guests including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell promoted the theories on multiple Fox programs, and several hosts amplified or endorsed them on air.2NPR. Rupert Murdoch Deposition Reveals Fox News Executives Knew Election Fraud Claims Were False Dominion grouped the accusations into what it called the fraud lie, the algorithm lie, the Venezuela lie, and the kickback lie, each variation of the same false claim that its technology had corrupted the vote.1Delaware Courts. US Dominion Inc. v. Fox News Network, Summary Judgment Opinion
What Discovery Revealed
The evidence that emerged before trial explains why Fox chose to pay rather than face a jury. Thousands of pages of internal emails, texts, and depositions showed a wide gap between what the network broadcast and what its own people believed.
Fox’s in-house research unit, the “Brain Room,” concluded the fraud claims about Dominion were false. The network kept airing them anyway. Senior Vice President David Clark testified that if the Brain Room found the charges baseless, “they never should have been aired.”3NBC News. Dominion Releases Previously Redacted Slides in Fox News Lawsuit
On December 2, 2020, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott emailed an executive complaining about an on-air fact-check of Trump’s fraud claims by anchor Eric Shawn: “This has to stop now… The audience is furious and we are just feeding them material. Bad for business.” Anchor Bret Baier texted Fox News President Jay Wallace on November 5, 2020, about the same allegations: “How is that ok? None of that is true as far as we can tell.” Wallace replied, “We need to fact check this crap. It would help us.”3NBC News. Dominion Releases Previously Redacted Slides in Fox News Lawsuit
The deposition of Rupert Murdoch, then chairman of Fox Corporation, may have been the single most damaging exhibit. Under oath, Murdoch acknowledged that several of his top hosts had “endorsed” the false stolen-election narrative. Asked about individuals, he was blunt: Maria Bartiromo, “Yes. C’mon.” Lou Dobbs, “Oh, a lot.” Jeanine Pirro, “I think so.” Sean Hannity, “A bit.”2NPR. Rupert Murdoch Deposition Reveals Fox News Executives Knew Election Fraud Claims Were False
Murdoch also admitted he could have kept Giuliani off the network. “I could have. But I didn’t,” he testified.4The Guardian. Rupert Murdoch Deposition Unsealed in Dominion v. Fox Defamation Suit He called Trump’s election fraud claims “terrible stuff damaging everybody” and said, “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight.”5First Amendment Watch. Rupert Murdoch’s Deposition Unsealed in Dominion v. Fox Defamation Suit
The Rulings That Boxed Fox In
Judge Eric M. Davis of the Delaware Superior Court issued a series of decisions in spring 2023 that narrowed the trial to almost nothing favorable for Fox. On March 31, 2023, he denied summary judgment to both Fox entities and granted parts of Dominion’s motion on liability.1Delaware Courts. US Dominion Inc. v. Fox News Network, Summary Judgment Opinion
The pivotal finding was that the statements Fox aired about Dominion were false as a matter of law. Davis wrote that the evidence was “CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 Election are true.” He ruled Fox had committed defamation “per se” and rejected the network’s defenses based on “neutral reporting” privilege and protected opinion.6NPR. Judge Rules Fox Hosts Claims About Dominion Were False That left the jury to decide only whether Fox acted with “actual malice,” what the damages should be, and whether Fox Corporation shared the liability.
Davis also sanctioned Fox for discovery misconduct. Recordings of Bartiromo’s conversations with Powell and Giuliani surfaced only a week before a hearing, and Fox had failed to disclose that Rupert Murdoch held the title of “executive chair” at Fox News, contradicting earlier assertions that he played no role in running the news operation.7The New York Times. Fox News Sanctioned Over Evidence in Dominion Case The judge indicated he would likely appoint a special master to investigate whether evidence had been deliberately withheld.8The Hill. Judge Sanctions Fox News for Withholding Evidence in Dominion Lawsuit
The Settlement and Its Terms
A jury had already been seated when Fox and Dominion announced on April 18, 2023, that they had settled for $787.5 million. Judge Davis noted he did not need to approve the agreement, so it took effect immediately.9Courthouse News Service. Dominion Settles Defamation Case Against Fox News for $787.5 Million
The deal required no admission of wrongdoing, no on-air apology, and no correction. That absence drew criticism from journalism ethics scholars who saw the case as a rare chance to compel a public reckoning. Dominion equity owner Hootan Yaghoobzadeh defended the choice, saying the outcome was “much more profound than some disingenuous apology or forced statement that would not have any credibility.” Dominion attorney Stephen Shackelford was blunter: “Money is accountability, and we got that today from Fox.”10The Conversation. Dominion Threw Away Its Shot by Not Requiring a Correction and Apology From Fox News
Fox said the settlement “reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.” Dominion CEO John Poulos said Fox “admitted to telling lies about Dominion.”9Courthouse News Service. Dominion Settles Defamation Case Against Fox News for $787.5 Million
What the Settlement Actually Cost Fox
The check hurt but did not cripple. In its third fiscal quarter of 2023, Fox Corporation reported a $54 million net loss, or 10 cents per share, compared with a $283 million profit in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue actually rose 18% to $4.08 billion on the strength of Super Bowl LVII advertising, but the settlement charge erased those gains.11CNBC. Fox Corp Q3 2023 Earnings Class A shares fell as much as 3.6% the day after the announcement.12The Wall Street Journal. Fox Stock Slides After $787.5 Million Settlement With Dominion Voting
The real cost was smaller than the headline. Fox confirmed the settlement was tax-deductible as a business expense, and tax professor Robert Willens estimated the after-tax cost at about $590 million, roughly three-quarters of the sticker price. Chad Milton of Media Risk Consultants estimated Fox might also have carried between $100 million and $500 million in media liability insurance, though insurers often dispute such claims and no public accounting of any recovery has been released.13WHYY. Fox Dominion Settlement Unlikely to Cost $787 Million
Why It Mattered, and Why It Didn’t Set Precedent
The case was seen as the most significant test of the “actual malice” standard since the Supreme Court established it in New York Times v. Sullivan in 1964. That standard requires a public figure to prove a defendant published a false statement either knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth. Because the case settled before a verdict, it produced no binding precedent on actual malice. Still, one Dominion lawyer called it the strongest case of its kind he had ever seen.14Columbia Political Review. Dominion v. Fox Won a Battle in a Losing War
The Sullivan standard itself remains contested. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch have questioned whether it should survive, with Thomas describing it as “policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law.”15Brennan Center for Justice. Dominion Voting’s Libel Suits, the First Amendment, and Actual Malice
The practical effect on Fox’s audience appears limited. A Columbia Political Review analysis found that only eight of the 26 largest conservative news outlets reported on the case, Fox devoted about six minutes of airtime to the settlement, and 68% of Republicans still believed the 2020 election involved fraud as of mid-2023. Only 9% of surveyed Fox viewers said they watched less of the network afterward.14Columbia Political Review. Dominion v. Fox Won a Battle in a Losing War
The Cases That Followed
Dominion also pursued $1.3 billion defamation suits against Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Mike Lindell individually. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in August 2021 that all three could proceed, finding Dominion had adequately alleged the defendants made false statements with reckless disregard for the truth.16WBAL-TV. Judge Says Dominion’s Defamation Suits Against Powell, Giuliani, and MyPillow CEO Can Proceed Dominion quietly settled with Powell and Giuliani in September 2025 on confidential terms, with each side bearing its own legal costs.17ABC News. Dominion, Rudy Giuliani Reach Confidential Settlement in $1.3B Defamation Case
In a related case brought by former Dominion executive Eric Coomer, a federal jury in Denver found Mike Lindell liable for defamation in June 2025 and awarded Coomer $2.3 million, well below the $62.7 million he had sought. The jury did not hold MyPillow itself liable, and Lindell said he planned to appeal.18The New York Times. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Found Liable for Defamation19CPR News. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Defamation Lawsuit Verdict
Smartmatic, another voting technology company, is still pursuing a separate $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox in New York state court, filed in February 2021. The case names Fox Corporation, Bartiromo, Pirro, the estate of Lou Dobbs, Giuliani, and Powell as co-defendants.20NPR. Fox News Smartmatic Lawsuit Election Claims Trial21CNN. Smartmatic DOJ Fox Giuliani Bribery Philippines22NBC Miami. U.S. Prosecutors Charge Smartmatic in Alleged Philippines Bribery Case23Courthouse News Service. Fox Loses Bid to Pause Smartmatic Defamation Case24New York Courts. Smartmatic USA Corp. v. Fox Corp., Appellate Division Ruling No trial date has been set.