The Paisano

Editorial Board

Mason Hickok | Editor-in-Chief Editor@paisano-online.com

Laynie Clark | Managing Editor Manager@paisano-online.com

Grace Robinson/The Paisano

of democracy as a beacon of hope in devastated, war-torn lands. Was spreading democracy sufficient justification for invading other countries? Well, maybe that was a big lie too. But it was a lie that only functioned because most Americans believed our democracy was so sound that it ought to be shared. Since then, there has been a complete reversal and today, most Republicans still believe the 2020 election was rigged. The texts and emails that emerged during the deposition showed that the assault on democracy was motivated principally by greed — Fox executives noticed that they were losing their audience to smaller, far-right news outlets and sought to win them back. But if money were the principal factor, then Fox is playing a delicate numbers game. If Fox can maintain its lead in the cable news market through reckless journalism and telling malicious lies, then it can afford to lose a court case or two every few years. The Dominion case was big, much bigger than Fox likely anticipated, but it was strong only because Fox had been sloppy. Now, they need only to take good notes and correct the errors. Besides, Dominion was not the only target of Fox’s ire during the 2020 election. Poll workers, secretaries of state, governors and postal workers were all targets of baseless claims of voter fraud that were echoed on Fox segments. Fox profited from defaming these people and will likely never have to pay for it. Personally, I would have liked to see the case go before a jury. The $1.6 billion that Dominion originally sought could have seriously wounded the cable news giant, and a trial might have further damaged Fox’s reputation and credibility among its audience. So, while others have touted the settlement as a win for America, unless you have a stake in Dominion, I do not buy it.