Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News empire is going on trial for airing false 2020 election fraud claims, even as it continues to struggle over its relationship with the man who most stoked those conspiracy theories: former President Donald Trump.
Fox Corp. and the Fox News network are now facing a possible $1.6 billion damages award in a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems Inc., which was accused by hosts and guests on the conservative network of rigging the election for Joe Biden. The 92-year-old Murdoch could be called to the witness stand as early as Monday, to be grilled about his failure to rein in the network despite his own belief that Trump’s claims were baseless.
Jury selection in the Delaware state court starts Thursday, and a verdict could be costly. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that if the jury finds Fox liable, it could award Dominion damages of about $375 million. Even that fraction of the $1.6 billion the voting machine maker is seeking would be one of the biggest defamation awards of all time and would amount to roughly two-thirds of Fox’s adjusted profit in its most recent quarter.
