Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit from the voting machine company, Dominion, over its reporting of the 2020 presidential election.
In a last-minute settlement before trial, the network agreed to pay $787.5m (£644m) – about half the $1.6bn initially sought by Dominion.
Dominion argued its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims the vote had been rigged against Donald Trump.
The deal spares Fox executives such as Rupert Murdoch from having to testify.
The judge in the case is not required to give his approval for the settlement.
and the First Amendment itself.”
Had the defamation trial gone ahead, jurors would have been tasked with determining whether Fox News acted with “actual malice” by broadcasting claims it knew to be false.
Civil litigation attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel told the BBC that the settlement “speaks to the massive threat Fox saw from this litigation”.
“The reputational harm of having executives, including chairman Rupert Murdoch, and hosts take the stand seems to have moved the parties towards a resolution,” Ms Tuegel added.
Fox still faces a second, similar defamation lawsuit from another election technology firm, Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7bn.
Dominion still has legislation pending against two conservative news networks, OAN and Newsmax.
The company has also sued Trump allies such as Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell.
