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By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Fox News settlement a blow to media trust

Apr 23, 2023 | 5:50 AM

THIS WEEK, A LAST-MINUTE SETTLEMENT was reached between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion had sued for defamation over statements made by the news network buying into claims that the voting company cost Donald Trump the 2020 election

You may think the $787 million (U.S.) settlement is a huge defeat for Fox. It isn’t. It may actually be a victory for Fox at the expense of journalism.

Information on file to date shows that many Fox News executives did not believe there was election fraud but allowed stories purporting the fraud to go to air anyway, ostensibly so as not to anger the right-wing viewers, many of whom were believed to have bought into the conspiracy theory.

It is hard to imagine journalists going along with that, and it certainly is a blow to the trust we have in the media.

The settlement is a drop in the bucket for Fox, whose quarterly profits were recently mentioned at $4.6 billion (U.S). The settlement means that executives will not have to testify so the truth continues behind the dollar.

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It means media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son won’t be on the stand to defend the actions of his company.

You may remember Murdoch in relation to a hacking scandal that resulted in his News of the World listening in to hacked voicemails involving a murdered young woman. That scandal has continued to this day, although Murdoch’s stature has not diminished.

This newest scandal has perpetrated lies that many have bought into. As the BBC reported last week, the Murdoch empire’s approach to truth is what is really in the spotlight here. And that approach is wrong.

There is nothing wrong with free speech until it gets to the point where the speech involves libel, slander and blatant lies.

And that’s why this settlement does nothing to bring journalism back to a position of respect in our society, and only promotes the lies promulgated in social media, instead of viewing the facts presented in a well-researched article in a trusted journal or broadcast.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.