Fox News, Dominion trial set to begin tomorrow

The trail of the Dominion Voting Systems against American news outlet Fox News will begin tomorrow (Monday), as all eyes remain glued to the landmark defamation case in the United States.

The trial will determine if the network can be held financially responsible for publishing false claims of voting machines being rigged during the 2020 elections in the US, NBC News reported.

Dominion Voting Systems Corporation, a company which manufactures and sells electronic hardware and software for voting, became the subject of conspiracy theories with regards to the 2020 presidential race.

The company's devices were used in 28 states across the US.

The company was subjected to false claims by then-President Donald Trump and his allies, who said that the polls which he lost to US President Joe Biden were actually stolen from him.

The Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, In a pre-trial ruling, agreed that claims made by Fox News hosts and guests regarding the voting machine company were false, and gave Dominion the chance to convince the jury that the news network and its parent company, Fox Corp., have acted with "actual malice" when it aired the conspiracy theories.

Meanwhile, Fox News said that the case is regarding the “First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”

In its complaint, Dominion argues that the Rupert Murdoch-owned corporation has defamed its company by broadcasting baseless claims tying its links to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and that its machines rigged the 2020 presidential polls flipping votes meant for Trump in Biden's favour, as well as paid bribes to politicians.

The company filed a case against the media network in 2021 and sought $1.6 billion in damages. It also challenged claims made by Fox News hosts and guests, Fox Business as well as those on social media by its host Lou Dobbs.