The Core Claims: Examining the 20 Fox Broadcasts in the Dominion Defamation Suit

Beyond the high-profile witnesses and private messages, the defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News centers on 20 specific broadcasts and tweets. Dominion alleges these segments, which aired between November 8, 2020, and January 26, 2021, knowingly promoted falsehoods that devastated the company’s reputation. The statements originated from Fox hosts Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs, and Maria Bartiromo, alongside interviews with Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Lindell, as well as several tweets from Dobbs.

The Nature of the Allegations

The disputed claims, which the presiding judge has ruled are false, broadly alleged Dominion conducted election fraud, used algorithms to flip votes, had ties to Venezuela, and that politicians received kickbacks. Dominion still has to prove these statements were made with “actual malice,” meaning Fox knew they were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The company seeks $1.6 billion in damages, a figure Fox contests as exaggerated. Fox has denied wrongdoing, framing the suit as an attack on press freedoms and arguing Dominion has not met the high legal bar for defamation.

Key examples of the on-air claims include an exchange where Maria Bartiromo prompted Sidney Powell to discuss “voting irregularities,” leading to Powell’s assertion that “fraud took place where they were flipping votes.” In another segment, Rudy Giuliani falsely stated Dominion was “a foreign company that is owned by Venezuelans” founded “to fix elections.” Similarly, on Lou Dobbs’ program, Powell claimed Dominion “was created to produce altered voting results in Venezuela for Hugo Chavez.” These specific instances form the factual backbone of the legal dispute, highlighting the challenge of balancing vigorous reporting with accountability for spreading disinformation.