In a statement released this Friday, Fox News responded to a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems which accused the network of spreading conspiracy theories about its alleged involvement in mass voter fraud, saying its 2020 election coverage “stands in the highest tradition of American journalism” and pledged to “vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit in court,” The New York Times reports.
The election technology company was the target of baseless pro-Trump conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines — some of which were pushed by Fox hosts — and sued the network on Friday for “advancing lies that devastated its reputation and business,” according to the Times. The company is seeking at least $1.6 billion in damages.
Less than two months ago, Smartmatic, another election tech company, filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit against the Fox Corporation and named Fox anchors Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro as defendants.
“The truth matters,” Dominion’s lawyers wrote in Friday’s complaint. “Lies have consequences. Fox sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process. If this case does not rise to the level of defamation by a broadcaster, then nothing does.”
