Dominion lawsuit has changed Fox News’ viewership and beliefs about the 'big lie'

Dominion Voting Systems is in the middle of a defamation lawsuit against Fox News after the network helped to spread Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

What has become known as the "big lie" is now being relitigated in court as a result of the text messages and emails that have been released to the public from exhibits and filings.

Now Variety is reporting that Fox has lost the trust of some of its own viewers.

A recent survey by media analytics firm Maru Group revealed that 42 percent of respondents who said that they watch Fox confessed that they trusted the network less as a result of the Dominion lawsuit.

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The data revealed 45 percent of Fox viewers said that they still trust the network, whereas 21 percent of viewers said they trust the network less, and 11 percent no longer trust the network.

The report also noted that Fox News has seen a decline in ratings in recent months, with its average viewership dropping from 2.8 million in January to 2.2 million in February.

So, while the percentage of change in viewership is small the raw numbers are much more significant. The 21 percent of the 2.2 million viewers who said they trust the network less is equal to 462.000.. Trump lost Arizona by a little over 11,000 votes and Georgia by a little over 10,000.

A full 50 percent of Fox viewers still believe the election was stolen while 37 percent never believed it was stolen, to begin with. There has been a 13 percent change in Fox viewers saying they believed the "big lie" previously but no longer do now. That compares with 10 percent of non-Fox viewers.

In response to the Dominion lawsuit, Fox News has argued that its coverage was protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. Dominion's lawsuit argues that Fox knew they were lying about the 2020 election but they continued their lies against both the company and the election with malicious intent.

Read the full report at Variety.