The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Today America is faced with judicial and legislative decisions that will determine the future of just how far we should allow the freedom of speech to extend. How is lying a given right for people and organizations to use as a benefit to their obtaining their desires, when it causes harms to others and infringes on other rights granted under the Constitution of the United States?
Fox News Lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems
The $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems is a perfect example of just how far our understanding of free speech has gone wrong. The “staggering volume” of texts from Fox News personalities showing they knew they were lying about the 2020 election fraud is overwhelming proof that Fox News’ producers and performers were lying as part of their business model. Here we have a case where Fox News is alleged to be broadcasting fake information in order to increase its viewership and its revenues.
Usually these lawsuits fail because you can’t prove that the company you’re suing knew they were spreading falsehoods. All they need to do is declare that they believed what they said was true or that they are simply repeated the information. This gives them the legal benefit of doubt on their side. These cases are easily dismissed, too costly for the plaintiff and only mildly punitive for the accused. Here we have a multi-billion-dollar organization making obscene profits by broadcasting falsified information that highly damages another institution.
Not only has the spreading of the election fraud conspiracy created great harm to Dominion, but it has caused great harm to all Americans. These lies have created doubt that our given right to a fair and free democratic election is secure. We already know that foreign operatives, such as Russian agents as detailed in the Mueller Report, have interfered with our elections. But now we have the extremely wealthy heads of corporations getting away with being even more egregious in their abuse of our freedoms.
For the betterment of America Fox News cannot get away unpunished. Considering such a high degree of flagrant abuse of the First Amendment, they need to be held at a much greater degree of accountability. We need to see exactly how this judicial process is resolved. Will Fox News pay a penalty and lose listeners, or will their followers just ignore this abuse of the truth. Now Smartmatic, another voting technology company, is suing for defamation following the 2020 election and is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox and other defendants.
The $49.3 million verdict against Alex Jones in the Sandy Hook School shooting conspiracy
An Aug 7, 2022 article in the Los Angeles Times by Michael Sisak explains what should happen when verbally attacking individuals. This is the story of one of many conspiracy theorists who is responsible for the Donald Trump MAGA far right movement. Alex Jones, owner of InfoWars, a well-known far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website, has for years spread false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012, that left 28 people dead and 2 injured.
An Austin, Texas jury awarded the parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Jesse Lewis, $4.1 million in compensatory damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress by claiming the parents were “crisis actors” and the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax meant to further gun control. The jury subsequently added $45.2 million in punitive damages to Jones’ penalty, for a total $49.3 million. State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble later announced that she plans to order Alex Jones to pay the full $49.3 million, despite a Texas law that caps punitive damages.
What are the chances that Fox News and Alex Jones will actually pay for their free speech distortions of the truth?
In the case of Alex Jones, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec 2, 2022 in the Southern District of Texas. Jones listed his assets to be between $1 million and $10 million. He claimed his debts, which are mostly business-related, are estimated to be between $1 billion and $10 billion and that they are listed as owed to between 50 and 99 creditors. It will be eye opening to see how all of this plays out. Unfortunately, the Judicial System is an agonizing slow process.
Bankruptcy can be used to wipe out debts, but not if they result from “willful or malicious injury” caused by the debtor. Jones’s lies appear to meet that standard, said Susan Block-Lieb, a professor of bankruptcy law at Fordham University School of Law. “Defamation is pretty clearly an intentional tort – it is especially clear in Alex Jones’s case,’ Block-Lieb said.
The filing also comes with a risk for Jones, who will have to disclose all of his assets in court, said bankruptcy lawyer Sidney Scheinberg. “Now that he’s filed for bankruptcy, his assets are an open book,” Scheinberg said. “If you hide assets in a bankruptcy case, that’s a federal crime.” Connecticut judge Barbara Bellis had temporarily blocked Jones from moving any personal assets out of the country at the request of the plaintiffs, who claimed Jones was trying to hide assets to avoid paying.
As for Fox News and the company’s key players being held to accountability, this remains to be seen. The key issue that needs to be addressed is whether or not highly compensated Fox News commentators will continue to be allowed to spread conspiracy theories that have been proven false by numerous other sources. But what will happen to Fox News hosts Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, Sean Hannity and the reigning king of conspiracy theories Tucker Carlson.
Internal communications that Dominion’s lawsuit uncovered have shown that many, if not all of these stars of conservative television, knew that election fraud claims were false despite the Fox network promoting them. Will they be held accountable? Fox News certainly has achieved the means to pay compensatory damages from the profits they made from deceiving their followers. Hopefully we will have some of the answers in the next few months.
