ZWF: Fox News isn't safe yet
Zander's Weekend Facts #63: Sunday, April 23, 2023
While Fox News’ legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems may be over, the network’s legal troubles rage on.
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a breakdown of Fox’s continuous legal troubles, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 101 features a preview of the NBA Playoffs with Zander’s Facts NBA analyst Hill Billy. Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, April 23, 2023:
The legal woes will continue for Fox News
The leaders of the company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas may have breathed a sigh of relief this past week, but it was most likely a brisk one.
On Tuesday, Fox Corporation’s Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems in one of the largest settlements in a defamation case in U.S. history. Dominion, a company valued at just $80 million in 2018, accused the network of promoting misinformation relating to Dominion’s role in voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
For many, the news of a settlement was a disappointment. Dominion had originally filed a $1.2 billion lawsuit - Fox Corp. had $14.3 billion in revenue last year - and was seeking the testimony of Fox Corp.’s chairman Rupert Murdoch, the longtime overseer of the Fox empire. The hope also existed that Fox would be forced to admit on air to its viewers that it did spread misinformation regarding Dominion in the aftermath of the election.
While the settlement did not force an on-air explanation from Fox, it did include a statement from the network which read in part, “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”
We also learned in the run-up to the trial of the communications within the network while conspiracies were being shared on-air. Some messages included producers degrading anchors Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro, anchor Tucker Carlson saying of former President Donald Trump “I hate him passionately,” and Fox primetime anchors dismissing former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani’s election fraud claims.
And while Fox may have been spared the effects of a weeks-long trial and its top anchors taking the stand in the Dominion case, the network still faces some other legal battles.
Perhaps the most threatening to the money-making machine is a similar defamation lawsuit, this one filed by Smartmatic. The election technology company is suing the network for $2.7 billion, accusing Fox of falsely implicating Smartmatic in election fraud during the 2020 election. Smartmatic, which only provided election technology to one county in the 2020 election, said in its complaint that Fox aired over 100 false statements after the election.
One day after the lawsuit was originally filed in February 2021, Fox fired Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, who was named in the lawsuit. In February 2023, an Appeals Court in New York denied Fox’s request to dismiss the case. In March, a judge in the state announced the case would proceed, with a trial date not having been announced.
Two more lawsuits have been filed against the network by former Fox News producer Abby Grossman. Grossman, who worked with anchors Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, is accusing Fox’s lawyers in suits filed on March 20 of trying to get her to give a misleading deposition in the Dominion case. Grossman is also accusing Fox of a hostile and discriminatory work environment. After Grossman sent the complaints to network leadership, she was fired.
Additionally, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert, is suing Australian news outlet Crikey News for libel. Murdoch is accusing the website of defaming him when a column linked a “Murdoch” as an “unindicted co-conspirator” to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The lawsuit is expected to go to trial in October in Sydney, Australia.
So while Dominion may be out of Fox’s hair, the consequences of knowingly airing false claims of election fraud may not be done for the network whose top anchor was found in court of “not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses.” (NPR - You Literally Can't Believe The Facts Tucker Carlson Tells You. So Say Fox's Lawyers)
(Tucker Carlson and Fox News parted ways one day after this article was published.)
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from Reuters - Fox resolves Dominion case, but $2.7 billion Smartmatic lawsuit looms
What Zander’s been reading
Well before electric vehicles took to the streets, hybrids were all the rage. Toyota, who has been extremely hesitant to get into the EV game, started the phenomenon with the Prius and is still all in on the hybrid. But with more environmentally friendly options now on the market, are hybrids helping or hurting the fight against climate change?
Check out this week’s featured article on NPR - Hybrid cars are still incredibly popular, but are they good for the environment? - (Link for article on Apple News)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Abortion Pill: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of preserving access to mifepristone, an abortion pill, for the time being on Friday. A lower court previously ordered the FDA to roll back its authorization of the drug, but the high court approved emergency requests from the Biden administration and the maker of the drug to keep the drug available through the appeals process. The case will now go to the 5th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, with the Supreme Court potentially taking up the case again if it is appealed.
Debt Ceiling Negotiations: House Republicans unveiled their plan that would raise the federal government’s debt ceiling last week. As negotiations with the White House have stalled for the time being, Republicans released a proposal that would prevent any further debt ceiling troubles until March 2024 and would also include $4.5 trillion in spending cuts. The plan is not expected to gain Democratic support, meaning it won’t pass the Senate. However, the Congressional Budget Office is anticipating that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as July, meaning a deal will need to be reached in the next few months.
Recent Shootings: As gun deaths continue to dominate the headlines in the U.S., new analysis finds that mass shootings are occurring at a record pace this year. According to the Associated Press, there have been 17 mass shootings so far this year, with only 2009 having this many take place at this point in the year. In the last few weeks, six people have been arrested after four people were killed and 32 injured in a shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, a black teenager in Kansas City, Missouri was shot by an 84-year-old man (whose family members say has been “radicalized” by right-wing media) when he approached the wrong house, and a 20-year-old woman was shot and killed after turning into the wrong driveway in Hebron, New York.
Sudan Fighting: Fighting between rival military factions in Sudan has spilled out onto the streets and affected the capital city of Khartoum. Recent estimates say that over 400 people have died and thousands have been injured in cities across the country. Sudan sits in a region long-known for political instability, having borders with Chad, Ethiopia, and Libya, and South Sudan being founded out of a Civil War in Sudan in 2011. Several countries, including China, the U.K., and the U.S., have begun evacuating citizens from the country.
Twitter Verification: On Thursday, many verified Twitter users began losing their blue check marks in a change to the platform’s verification process. Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced that only accounts that subscribe to the $8 per month Twitter Blue service would keep their check marks, leaving many prominent figures who didn’t pay, including Pope Francis and Oprah Winfrey, without a blue check. Several media organizations have also lost their verification badges, which now cost $1,000 per month to maintain. The changes have also led to imposter accounts infiltrating the platform, leading to fears of misinformation being spread.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
NBA Playoffs: The first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs are rolling on, with one team having already made it to the next round. The Philadelphia 76ers swept the Brooklyn Nets in four games and will face the winner of the Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks series, where the Celtics currently lead two games to one. Elsewhere in the East, the Miami Heat lead the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 2-1 in the series, and the New York Knicks lead the Cleveland Cavaliers by the same margin. In the West, the Denver Nuggets currently hold a 3-0 lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the Phoenix Suns lead the Los Angeles Clippers three games to one. Both the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers hold 2-1 leads over the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, respectively.
NHL Playoffs: The first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are well underway, with all eight series having played three games thus far. In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Rangers all hold 2-1 leads over their opponents, the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, and New York Rangers, respectively. In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild both hold 2-1 leads in their series over the Seattle Kraken and Dallas Stars, respectively. At the bottom of the bracket, the Vegas Golden Knights hold a 2-1 series lead over the Winnipeg Jets, with the Los Angeles Kings holding the same advantage over the Edmonton Oilers.
UEFA Champions League: The semifinals of the UEFA Champions League are set after the quarterfinals wrapped up last week. In the first semifinal, defending champions Real Madrid will face Manchester City, who are seeking their first UCL title. The second semifinal will be the first playing of the Derby della Madonnina in the Champions League since 2005, with Inter Milan facing AC Milan. The first leg of the semifinals begins with Madrid-City on Tuesday, May 9, while Inter-Milan takes place on Wednesday, May 10. The return legs will be played the week after. All the matches will kick off at 3:00 pm et and air on CBS, Paramount+, and Univision.
NFL Suspensions: Five NFL players were suspended last week for violating the league’s gambling policy. Four players from the Detroit Lions, Stanley Berryhill, Quintez Cephus, C.J. Moore, and Jameson Williams, along with Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders, were found in violation of the policy. While Berryhill and Williams were suspended for six games, Cephus, Moore, and Toney have been suspended indefinitely and can apply for reinstatement after next season. Last year, Calvin Ridley of the Jacksonville Jaguars was suspended for violating the same policy and was reinstated earlier this year.
WNBA TV Deal: The WNBA and Scripps Sports announced a deal last week that will air WNBA games on the Ion television network. WNBA games will air on Ion on Friday nights starting on May 26. The agreement is the first sports broadcasting deal for Scripps Sports, which launched last year. The deal is an addition to the league’s existing deals with ESPN and CBS, which expire in 2025. The league is hoping to ride the recent momentum of women’s basketball, with the recent NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship game between Iowa and LSU being the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
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You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, April 30, 2023.
