Fox News’s $787.5 million settlement with a voting machine company sends a stark warning to others about the cost of making false statements, but that doesn’t mean election falsehoods will disappear.
The constellation of conservative networks and right-wing websites that promote those falsehoods may just become more adept at spreading conspiracy theories and baseless claims, election officials and misinformation experts say, such as by avoiding naming companies and individuals.
“There are people who are so committed to the perpetuation of this narrative that it won’t die completely,” said Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R), a top election official in Arizona’s largest county. “There are organizations, candidates, fundraisers who this has been their life for a few years, and one settlement isn’t going to make them probably throw away their entire business model.”
Election officials and academics described Fox’s settlement with Dominion Voting Systems as one small part of a broad effort to restore Americans’ faith in elections and hold those who tell falsehoods accountable. On its own, the settlement might not change much, they said.
“We shouldn’t think that defamation suits are going to solve our problems with mass disbelief in the fairness of the 2020 election,” said Richard L. Hasen, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project.
Hasen said Fox News and other outlets are “going to be less likely to make statements about individuals or companies who could be defamed.” But the need to keep viewership high could lead to decision-making driven more by ratings than truth, as illustrated by documents — released as part of the lawsuit — that showed an all-out push to stay on top of smaller right-wing cable network Newsmax.
“So you can imagine them still at least allowing guests to push election conspiracy theories so long as they don’t defame identifiable people,” he said.