Spine Check

Private doubts → public amplification: Fox, Dominion, and the record

2026 ledger spine check media court dominion

Statement date: 2026
Action date: 2023-04-18
Outcome: Internal communications and deposition reporting indicated doubts, while on-air segments aired false claims; settlement followed.

Spine Card

Person: Fox News leadership / hosts — Media organization
Statement date: 2020-11-10
Action date: 2023-04-18
Outcome: Internal communications and deposition reporting indicated doubts, while on-air segments aired false claims; settlement followed.

What matters here

This isn’t a vibes post. It’s a court-record post: Dominion’s lawsuit over false claims about its voting systems ended in a $787.5 million settlement.

Public posture vs private signals

Multiple reports from the litigation describe internal communications and depositions suggesting that key figures privately doubted (or rejected) some fraud claims while the network continued to give them airtime.

Receipts timeline

2020–2021
Election-fraud claims involving voting tech companies aired widely across conservative media.
2023-02-17
Associated Press reporting on a Dominion filing describing hosts’ private skepticism.
2023-04-18
Dominion v. Fox settles for $787.5 million on the eve of trial.

Bottom line

When the business model depends on audience capture, spine fails fast. The record is the record — and the settlement is the receipt.

Sources

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