The Daily Fuckup

Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787.5 million settlement on April 18, 2023, just as the defamation trial was set to begin in Delaware Superior Court. Judge Eric Davis told the court the parties had resolved the case before opening statements, so jurors never heard evidence or returned a verdict.

The deal ended one of the most closely watched media trials in recent years without a judicial finding on the merits. Fox did not admit liability, and the settlement did not amount to a court ruling that anyone committed defamation. It did, however, close the book on Dominion’s claim that Fox broadcast false allegations that Dominion’s voting systems helped rig the 2020 election.

The timing mattered because the case had already been headed into the courtroom when the settlement landed. That made the payout both a financial hit and a public marker of how expensive it can be to keep repeating election-fraud claims after they have been challenged in court.