In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Fox News repeatedly broadcast claims that Dominion Voting Systems had helped steal the election from President Donald Trump. Those allegations were false, but their consequences produced one of the most significant media-law cases in American history.
In “Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody: The True Story of Lies and Libel in Dominion v. Fox,” media attorney Ian Rosenberg reconstructs the lawsuit from thousands of pages of court filings, internal communications and sworn testimony. The title comes from a message Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch sent as Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani promoted election-fraud allegations: “Terrible stuff damaging everybody, I fear.”
Rosenberg portrays the case as a three-act drama: why Fox aired the accusations, what the litigation exposed about the company’s internal decision-making, and what the outcome could mean for journalism and defamation law.
Dominion sought $1.6 billion, arguing that Fox hosts and guests promoted unsupported accusations involving manipulated software and switched votes. Fox maintained that it was covering newsworthy allegations made by the president’s lawyers and defended its reporting under the First Amendment.
But internal messages revealed that some Fox hosts, producers and executives privately doubted or rejected claims being presented to viewers. In March 2023, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that it was “crystal clear” the challenged statements about Dominion were false. A jury was still expected to determine whether Fox acted with “actual malice”—meaning it knowingly broadcast false information or recklessly disregarded the truth.
The trial never began. Fox and Dominion reached a $787.5 million settlement just before opening statements. Fox acknowledged the court’s findings but did not apologize or admit liability. Fox said the agreement reflected its commitment to journalistic standards.
Rosenberg argues that the case ultimately demonstrates both sides of American libel law: strong protections allow journalists to make honest mistakes, but those protections do not provide immunity for knowingly or recklessly spreading falsehoods.
His book presents the litigation as a warning about what can happen when audience loyalty, political pressure and commercial interests overtake basic verification.
Guest:
Ian Rosenberg is a media lawyer with over 25 years of experience specializing in First Amendment, libel and news law. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Brooklyn College. Previously Rosenberg was an Assistant Chief Counsel advising ABC News, and an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker. He is the author of “TerribleStuff Damaging Everybody: The True Story of Lies and Libel inDominion v. Fox”
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