Dominion CEO says 'we feel we got' accountability in Fox settlement
The settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems could open the floodgates for other media companies to be punished for spreading lies, Dominion CEO John Poulos said Wednesday.
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's Good Morning America, Poulos said, "It was never really about Fox, per se. It was about telling the truth, and the media telling the truth...I think that it's a big step forward in democracy if our system can send a signal that if media companies lie — whoever they are, on whatever channel it is — and they do so knowingly, they will be prepared to pay a very high price."
Poulos added that he was not surprised Fox took a long time to agree to a settlement, because "they published falsehoods about [Dominion], and it wasn't just once or twice...it was 20 statements made over two and a half months."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"This was not the case of a media company pursuing the truth and making a mistake. They knew," Poulos added.
The interview was the first Poulos had given since Dominion agreed to settle its lawsuit against Fox for a mammoth $787.5 million, about half of the $1.6 billion Dominion had originally sued for. The lawsuit alleged that Fox News had spread ongoing lies about Dominion's voting machines and their use in disproven claims of voter fraud regarding the 2020 presidential election.
While Fox did release a statement saying it acknowledges "the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false," Stephanopolous noted that the network did not really apologize for the falsehoods. Poulos replied, "It's not the way I wrote it...at the end of the day, the court system really is about accountability, we feel we got it."
Poulos also acknowledged, though, that the harassment of Dominion employees stemming from the lawsuit had been "devastating."
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
