Introduction
Rudy Guilianni: “Well first of all, the machines can be hacked. There’s no question about that. Their machines can be hacked.”
How false claims like that from former President Trump and his team in the days after the 2020 election may end up costing Fox News billions of dollars. Plus…
Greg is here with the weekly Notice News quiz.
Today on Notice News Daily.
Fox News Gets Sued
Hey guys and happy Friday from Brooklyn, I’m Jonathan. So – what do you think the consequences should be for saying something that’s not true? What if you’re just repeating what other people said?
B-line: What do you think the consequences should be for saying something that’s not true? What if you’re just repeating what other people said?
That question is at the center of a billion-dollar lawsuit that will begin Monday against Fox News.
In the days after losing the 20-20 election, Donald Trump and his allies spread false allegations that the election was stolen and that somehow he was actually the winner.
Some of those claims were around voting machines made by the company Dominion Voting Systems. Four days after the election, Trump’s lawyer, Syndey Powell, said this on Fox News.
Bartiromo: “Sidney, we talked about the Dominion software. I know that there were voting irregularities. Tell me about that.”
Powell: “That’s to put it mildly. The computer glitches could not and should not have happened at all. That is where the fraud took place, where they were flipping votes in the computer system or adding votes that did not exist.”
Only – that’s not true…
And Dominion says Fox knew it when they aired that interview and other segments about the company.
They say that because Fox aired claims that contained easily provable lies, they should be held accountable –
And they’ve sued Fox News for 1 point 6 billion dollars.
In the United States, it’s incredibly hard to win a case against the news media, because journalists are protected by the First Amendment.
Thanks to the 1968 Supreme Court case Sullivan v New York Times, people suing news outlets for libel must show that the outlet acted with quote actual malice.
Libel is when someone writes or publishes something that is untrue about another person, and it harms that person’s reputation.
It’s like spreading a rumor or gossip that isn’t true, and doing it in a way that damages someone’s reputation.
Libel is considered a serious offense, but because of the high bar of showing actual malice, it’s very hard to prove.
Experts in the Fox News case say this may be easier than others, though, because Dominion has discovered a lot of private emails and text messages…
Between Fox News hosts, executives and producers that show they all had serious doubts about Trump’s claims, yet broadcast those claims without pushback.
Jury selection begins today, and opening arguments begin Monday in the case.
B line: The trial is expected to last five weeks.
Weekly News Quiz
And now, live on tape from Brooklyn, it’s the Notice News Quiz.
I’m your host Greg and this is the game where want to know: have you been paying attention this week? Let’s find out. Question one.
Over the weekend, violence rocked the Middle Eastern city of Jerusalem – a holy city for three of the world’s major religions.
Jerusalem is not a holy city for which religion?
A) Islam
B) Buddhism
C) Christianity
or D) Judaism.
The answer? B) Buddhism.
Jerusalem is where ancient Jews thought God lived, where Christians say Jesus was resurrected, and Muslims say the Prophet Mohhamed ascended into heaven.
Question two. Earlier this week we reported that two courts gave conflicting ruling over access to abortion pills.
What will likely happen given those conflicting rulings?
A) Abortion will be legal
B) Abortion will be illegal
or C) The case will go to the Supreme Court.
The answer? C) The case will go to the Supreme Court.
When two lower courts disagree, that’s usually when the Supreme Court steps in to clear up the confusion.
And finally, question three. On Tuesday we brought you the story of two Olympic athletes, one who said this:
SOT: “If the IOC allows Russia to take part in the Olympic games, then these games are not about peace anymore, and what would be the message behind it? Even under a neutral flag.
Why do they not want Russia to compete in next year’s Olympics?
A) Because of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine
B) Because of oil sanctions
or C) Because they’re just too good at gymnastics.
The answer? A. The I-O-C has banned Russia from competing because of its illegal invasion of Ukraine, but will still allow athletes to compete under a neutral flag.
That’s it for this week, we’ll be back next time for another Notice News Quiz.
Conclusion
That’s it for today. Angie will be back next week with more from us, Notice News. Have a great weekend.