By Jack Queen
(Reuters) - One of the most closely watched U.S. media trials in decades kicks off in a Delaware court on Monday as Fox Corp and Fox News face a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems over the network's coverage of false claims that the ballot-counter company rigged the 2020 presidential election.
Here is an explanation of the case.
WHAT IS DOMINION CLAIMING?
Dominion in its lawsuit accused Fox of destroying its reputation and business by repeatedly airing false claims that its voting machines were used to rig the election against Republican then-President Donald Trump in favor of the winner, Democrat Joe Biden.
Dominion has said Fox knew the claims were false but continued broadcasting them to appeal to its largely conservative audience and keep viewers from defecting to right-wing media competitors that embraced the conspiracy theory.
The Denver-based company cited numerous internal Fox communications and deposition testimony that it has said proved that Fox personnel - show producers and hosts all the way up to the top executives - knew that guests who appeared on various programs and repeatedly made the false claims on air did not have evidence to back up their allegations.
WHAT IS FOX'S DEFENSE?
Fox has said Dominion cannot prove that the network knowingly spread falsehoods or recklessly disregarded the truth, the legal standard of "actual malice" that plaintiffs in defamation lawsuits must meet.
Fox has argued that Dominion...
Who: Plaintiff Tracy Sulli filed a class action lawsuit against Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. Why: Sulli claims Keurig Dr Pepper falsely advertises its K-Cup pods as recyclable. Where: The Keurig clas...