Unsettling Settlement

Fox news will continue their political lies, all for the price of $790 million.

There was almost accountability. Charlatans almost had to answer for lying to the American population in a direct attempt to change the results of a presidential election.

Instead, money won the day, again.

Dominion and Fox settled their case.

The jury had already been selected and seated. At the last moment, a settlement was reached. There will be no trial. There will be no more public airing of all of the lies Fox fed its viewers. The personalities such as Tucker Carlson and Hannity will continue their same behavior of generating conspiracies and distorting reality.

Nothing will fundamentally change.

Dominion is a company and as such they need to think of what is best for their business. A long drawn out legal case, even one they have a high chance of winning, takes a lot of resources and money. 

If, by some chance, Fox found a loophole or a way to bend the jury to their side, then Dominion could not only have to eat all of those legal costs, but it could even ruin the company.

A loss at trial could strengthen the lies of fraudulent elections and the lies about voting machines. All of which could blow back on Dominion.

For these reasons, Dominion did not owe America a trial. Taking this lawsuit as far as they did, pushing for a trial when Fox wouldn’t back down, all of it was important.

Dominion’s legal action led to the release of the behind the scenes texts and conversations which confirmed Fox knew they were peddling lies to the public. Even though the public that needs to see it the most will never look. 

Dominion had been seeking $1.6 billion. Fox has agreed to pay ~$790 million with the settlement. In the end it is still a win for Dominion. But also a win for Fox. 

Last year, Fox made $14 billion in revenue. How many of those billions came from their lies?

This is what happens to corporations all of the time. Discover that you have a defect in the newest car you’re selling which can make the accelerator stick which in turn causes accidents and deaths? Cover it up and lie about it for as long as you can. Eventually when it catches up to you, your company will pay a fraction of the profits it made to settle the lawsuit. 

Fox now knows they can keep lying, keep profiting, and occasionally they may have to pay a fine. They can simply factor that into their bottom line and design their business around those costs. This settlement ensures that Fox will be lying today, tomorrow, and certainly during the 2024 election.

Fox may even go ahead and lie about the 2024 election results since it drives ratings. Although maybe this time they will leave the voting machines out of their narrative.

America is in the middle of a battle with misinformation. An important battle. The misinformation is changing how people vote and is spurring mobs to attack our government buildings.

The lies have warped people’s minds to such a degree that they will show up at a Congressmember’s house with a hammer and attempt murder. It has made people show up at pizza shops with guns to find the non-existent, deep state, child trafficking ring they believed existed in the basement.

These lies have made people destroy their families, risk it all, and get jailed for years because they trusted a “news” station.

This case going to full trial, putting even more of the blatant lies that were spoken purely to increase profits out into the open, would have helped.

A win for dominion would have been impossible for all of Fox’s viewers to ignore. Some would still ignore it, but for others, it would be a revelation. Even the more devout would have some fresh doubts lingering in their mind every time Tucker’s befuddled face spewed out nonsense. 

Now, the battle is right back where it was before. A group of people in an isolated media bubble hearing the same lies over and over. All while other groups try to break through to explain the reality of the situation. It hasn’t been going well.

At the end of the day, money wins. Money drove the lies. Money drove the insurrection. Money drove the settlement. Isn’t that as American as it gets?

Tomorrow we will wake up and this settlement will already be fading into the recesses of our minds. Eventually, it will disappear fully, occasionally resurfaced in a political news discussion where everyone will simply nod the way we do about ancient history. 

To fight for truth, for justice, for fairness for all America is a fight destined to be frustrating and at times disappointing. When a highly public trial puts election misinformation on the stand are the rare moments where progress can leap forward in a single moment.

Dominion did not owe America this trial, but America desperately needed it.

Smartmatic is another voting machine company that also has a pending lawsuit, seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox’s defamation. The case is already getting more focus now that the settlement for Dominion has been announced. This is where everyone’s placing their hope for a big win against disinformation.

Social media posts are pouring in with people championing Smartmatic to pick up the football and continue to the endzone. Smartmatic has released a statement saying they are committed to their case against Fox.