Will the Fox settlement restore confidence in elections? | First Thing

Dominion Voting Systems has settled its defamation lawsuit with Fox News for $787.5m. Some fear it may not be enough to stop conspiracy theories about the company’s machines in run-up to 2024 election

Good morning.

Election officials across the US have faced an unprecedented amount of threats and harassment since the 2020 election. Now they say that Dominion Voting Systems’ decision to settle its landmark defamation lawsuit with Fox for $787.5m last week may not be enough to stop conspiracy theories about the company’s machines leading into the 2024 election.

In accepting a settlement, Fox News personalities and executives don’t have to testify about whether they knowingly spread false claims about the voting machines, or offer a public apology.

Public pressure about Dominion’s machines has already made one contested jurisdiction – Maricopa county in Arizona – consider whether or not to renew its contract with Dominion for vote tabulators.