The start of the trial of American broadcaster Fox News, which has been sued by an electronic voting machine company for defamation over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election, was postponed by a day on Monday amid possible last-minute negotiations with the complainant.
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While jury selection was ongoing in the Delaware Superior Court on Monday, Judge Eric Davis on the case announced the postponement of next-day hearings, according to several American media outlets.
No reason was given, but according to the Wall Street Journal, which like Fox News is owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, “Fox pressed at the last moment to settle the dispute between it and Dominion Voting Systems,” the company that sells $1.6 billion US Dollar claims damages.
When asked by AFP, Fox News and the complainant, they did not immediately comment.
A settlement would spare America’s favorite conservative channel a long and embarrassing trial in which its owner Rupert Murdoch, 92, could be summoned as a witness.
Dominion Voting Systems, which operated in 28 states during the 2020 election, accuses Fox News of repeatedly defaming it after Donald Trump’s November 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, acknowledging the never-proven thesis of a rigged election and would point a finger at the pulley of his machines.
Fox News responds that it was legitimate to give the floor to the Trump camp.
When a court case occurs, it is closely followed in the United States, where it is seen as a test of the freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution, but also of fighting misinformation.
The case is considered strong and the company has already won a round when Judge Eric Davis said in a March 31 order that it was “crystal clear that no allegation made about Dominion during the 2020 election was true.”
But media convictions for defamation are rare in the United States because the plaintiff must demonstrate a willful intent to disseminate false information to harm them.