live from our studios in singapore, this is bbc news. it s newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. we begin in the us, where one of the most highly anticipated defamation trials began and ended just as quickly. with the jury already selected media giant fox news settled with dominion voting systems, for $787 million. the issue at heart of the case was whether fox news was liable for airing the false claims that dominion s ballot counting machines were used to manipulate the 2020 election in favor ofjoe biden over then president donald trump. one of dominion s lawyers, justin nelson and ceo james poulos spoke after the settlement. the truth matters. lies have consequences. over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept dominion and election officials across america into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to dominion and the country. fox has admitted to telling lies about dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and
and told us more: it was very abrupt. thejurors had been sworn in. we were awaiting opening statements and then the clock ticking and nothing happened. ultimately, thejudge came into the courtroom and announced that a settlement had been reached by these two sides and that rupert murdoch s media empire had agreed to pay nearly $800 million. now, you heard there from the lawyers representing dominion and also from the company ceo. but let me just read you this statement from fox saying that the settlement reflected its continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards and that it was hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with dominion amicably instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues. because, remember, mariko, at the heart of this trial was the idea of accountability
james poulos spoke after the settlement. the truth matters. lies have consequences. over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept dominion and election officials across america into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to dominion and the country. fox has admitted to telling lies about dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and the customers that we serve. nothing can ever make up for that. throughout this process, we have sought accountability, and believe the evidence brought to light through this case underscores the consequences of spreading lies. michelle fleury is in wilmington, delaware, where this all unfolded
renewed. they are. while the record there also in board rooms renegotiating their single largest source of revenue. to put a bow and at the money they paid out today to dominion, what they re about to dominion, what they re about to make if they actually are successful at getting these cable increases as only a fraction. they will have five times as much revenuejust fraction. they will have five times as much revenue just from the increases, within their baseline of the successful at renewing. that s how it comes together. keeping their audience with them is as much is about exercising political power as it is about ensuring they have that fervor and passion to jack up those rates on the cable contracts side. angelo carusone, thank you for joining us on newsday today. a white man accused of shooting and injuring a black teenager, ralph yarl, who accidentally rang the wrong doorbell in the american state of missouri, has handed
over disinformation in the 2020 election dominion, accusing the company of spreading of of the company of fox news hosts and guests of spreading lies about dominion and its role in the 2020 election. and a lot of experts were watching this trial closely, wondering what could be the impact on the 2024 presidential election coverage by fox news and other us media. what do you think this settlement could mean? what are experts telling you? well, look, i mean, i think for rupert murdoch and his media empire, there was a strategic decision at play here. they probably didn t have too many good options. if this court case had gone ahead, it would have aired a lot of dirty linen, that could have been very damaging for the company. and remember, one of the things at the heart of this