Fox has to pay Dominion voting systems
$787 million for making false statements
about the voting machines.
It was a huge story
for the past two years.
In the media world,
but very rarely mentioned on Fox.
So what do Fox viewers know
about what happened?
I sat down
with a group of them to find out.
Here is our pulse of the people
Show of hands.
How many of you had heard about this
two year legal battle
between Dominion and Fox
before our producer called you
two of you had heard about it.
I was aware
of the claims
that it made
against Dominion
and the allegations of voter fraud
more broadly.
I just wasn't aware
that Dominion had filed
essentially a defamation
suit against Fox.
How many of you are surprised
by the $787 million settlement
that Fox agreed to pay to Dominion
for broadcasting false information about
the voting systems
None of you.
Ragan, your thoughts?
It was damning to Fox.
So at some point
you have to make a business decision
on both sides. And I.
I thought, you know,
it would probably be in Vox's
best interests
to settle
for obviously,
fox made those claims in some capacity
and Dominion took issue with it, so
they sued them.
But I came away from
the court
filing with was
a lot of this is a matter of opinion.
This has been over a year. Correct.
So for them to come to the table
with no evidence to back up their claims,
that's really frustrating because,
quite frankly, we've had millions
of Americans
that have been doing their homework
since 20, 20.
It's pretty easy to find some
funny stuff.
I'm wondering how you feel
knowing that
one of the things that came out
during Discovery
was how different
the hosts felt behind the scenes
than what they were saying on the air.
For instance, when Tucker Carlson said
behind the scenes
after the election on November 23rd
20, 20,
he says,
I had to try to make the White House
disavow Sidney Powell,
which they obviously should have done
long before.
Laura Ingraham in her texts response.
No serious lawyer
could believe what they were saying.
Well, I,
I lost
I'd lost trust in them prior to that.
Anyway, when when Fox was calling out
the election,
I know a lot of people felt this way
they were calling out the election
prematurely for Arizona.
And then after that,
you know, there's been a lot of talking
on both sides of their mouth.
The audience is not looking
to be lied to.
It's looking to give context to something
that we know is true
from a certain perspective.
And that's that's got a value.
But there is a line not to cross.
And once
you know that something is not true,
you need to let them know
because then they can move
on, move on and accept it.
They lost the conservatives
lost this last election not because
of some nefarious,
deep state, shadowy thing.
So, you know, Alison, you spoke about
well, you know, certain Fox hosts
knew about this,
but they went forward with it anyway.
What one?
I'm really happy that they have
divergent opinions in private
and they say, gosh, you know,
I'm not really sure about this.
I think they're going to learn a lesson
this that this lesson hasn't happened.
To cost them $787 million,
which is a number I can't hardly imagine.
And what is that lesson? Right.
And what is that lesson
Well, I think that lesson is that
the news should be based wholly on truth.
There's a certain
level of willful blindness
but people see what they want to see.
And that's true
on the left and it's true on the right.
But I don't look to any of the networks,
including Fox,
as the ultimate arbiter of truth.
One more question, show of hands.
How many of you will still
be devoted Fox watchers
I mean,
not sure
if it's devoted, but I don't think so.
Three used to being the odd man out.
That's okay.
So, guys, of the three
who are still going to be Fox watchers
in, will you take
what they say
with more of a grain of salt?
Now,
As I stated earlier,
I take everyone with a grain of salt.
Reagan, what about you? Will you be.
Will you be listening to Fox with through
a different lens,
taking it more with a grain of salt
or you should always look within
when something big like this happens.
A big case like this.
So yeah,
I think there's going to be
an extra filter
on that lens when I watch Tucker.
Ryan, will you be watching
through a different filter?
As Reagan said,
I think I'm going to be expanding my net
some more.
Allison,
you might be winning a new future viewer.
But also,
you know,
the things that Fox News is showing
is not necessarily
the things that CNN is showing
and expanding mind.
That will be, I think, helpful.
So that I don't see these
I don't have these blind spots
like this Dominion case.
Our thanks to our panel there.
And if you want to comment on it,
feel free to find me
on social media at Alisyn Camerota.