The $787 million check that Fox must cut won’t restore damage to US democracy

Fox News will pay $787.5 million for transmitting lies that a small voting technology firm helped steal the 2020 election. But it’s impossible to put a price on damaged trust in US democracy.

The last-minute deal Tuesday between the conservative channel and Dominion Voting Systems, halting a blockbuster jury trial, delivered a staggering financial settlement after a process that had already exposed Fox’s willingness to parrot election conspiracy theories that its executives and anchors knew weren’t true.