Some of the biggest stars on Fox News are being compelled to answer questions about their coverage of the 2020 presidential election as a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from an election technology company that claims its reputation was ruined by the network’s airing of baseless fraud allegations picks up steam.

Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems last week questioned hosts Jeanine Pirro and Tucker Carlson, while Sean Hannity and former Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs are scheduled for depositions Tuesday, according to court filings.

They are among the on-air personalities that Dominion says defamed it either by falsely claiming the company conspired to rig the election against Donald Trump or by repeatedly hosting guests who made such claims.

But Dominion has also deposed former and current Fox personnel who never subscribed to such claims — including longtime news anchor Shepard Smith, who left Fox nearly three years ago and now works for CNBC, as well as behind-the-scenes players like producers and bookers — in what appears to be an effort to probe the internal culture and reporting practices of the highest-rated cable news network.

Dominion’s lawyers “seem to want to show a pattern of practice of Fox disregarding the facts,” said a person with knowledge of the deposition process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve a confidential process.

The company has obtained reams of internal emails and text messages sent by Fox employees, some of which it...

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