Thread by @JeffRoushPoetry

Like many, I’m disappointed that Dominion settled. But I don’t think it’s a terrible thing for America. Rather, we should treat this as a starting point for a new front in the war against disinformation. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#LiveBlue

The Dominion lawsuit felt incredibly strong—but there is no guarantee they would have won. Actual malice is a high bar. I think they had enough evidence to clear it, but it wasn’t a slam dunk with a jury.

And if it had gone all the way through, this was a case specifically about lies about, and damage to, Dominion. Any required on-air statements would have related to Dominion voting systems, rather than Fox’s general attacks on information and democracy.

So even a total victory for Dominion wouldn’t have ended Fox or forced Fox to tell the world that it is merely News entertainment, with the same relationship with real news as professional wrestling has with the Olympic sport.

But right now, thanks to the discovery released in the case, we have direct evidence that Fox does not see itself or comport itself as an actual news organization. We can take this much further than Dominion ever would have done.

We also see real potential to take down purveyors of lies and anti-democratic deceit. The Smartmatic suit is still out there. So too are many people and organizations that Fox has defamed. And, I suspect, many plaintiffs’ firms that would love to bring suits now.

We won’t get the live testimony some of us were craving. Fox is already trying to save face. But the Dominion settlement is just the beginning. It’s new ground on which we can take the fight to them. Let’s go.