Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody - by Ian Rosenberg (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Exposes the definitive story of Dominion v. Fox, revealing how election lies tested media power and reshaped the future of democracy

Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network is the watershed media case of the century. Following an onslaught of attacks by several Fox News program hosts and guests alleging Dominion's voting machines had been rigged to steal the 2020 United States presidential election from then-president Donald Trump, the previously little-known voting technology company decided to fight back. Over the next two years, their libel lawsuit would ultimately expose the inner workings of the seemingly unassailable Fox Corporation and the thoughts of the media conglomerate's most high-profile stars, guests and executives.

Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody details the true story of the election lies that shook the nation, Fox News and our democracy. Media lawyer and author Ian Rosenberg presents the saga as a riveting three act drama that answers the vital questions: why Fox News broadcasted flagrantly false claims about election fraud; what the legal action uncovered about Fox's power structure and the actual malice standard; and how the aftermath of the case will fundamentally impact the future of libel law, the media, and our democracy.

On the morning the trial was set to begin the parties reached an unprecedented settlement of $787.5 million, and the media lamented that secrets from Fox's top talent and executives would never come to light. But now the full shocking story can finally be revealed. Transforming thousands of pages of legal documents into a compelling behind-the-scenes narrative, Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody provides a clear-eyed, expert analysis of this history-making lawsuit, and why without it our democracy would be in an even more precarious position than we are today.

Review Quotes

"Artfully brings to life the current day challenges to freedom of the press that Dominion v. Fox embodied. Rosenberg's lively narrative depicts the dramatic battle that ensued among judges, lawyers, media executives and personalities involved in the suit. His compelling tale illuminates the transformative impact of the Dominion settlement on the law, the media, and American democracy itself."--Karen J. Greenberg, author of Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump

"Ian Rosenberg's valuable book shows why we all should not fall prey to broad-brush statements about fake news and irresponsible journalists but should instead pay attention to the details of what's actually been published."--Mark Tushnet, Harvard Law School

"Respect for objective truth and trust in the national media across the ideological spectrum have plummeted together in recent years. Ian Rosenberg presents an incredibly gripping and well researched story of how Fox News' treatment of the 2020 presidential election added explosive fuel to this decline, while the libel case has provided an important wake up call for our republic. A vital read."--Donald Downs, University of Wisconsin-Madison

About the Author

Ian Rosenberg is a media lawyer and Adjunct Associate Professor at Brooklyn College. He is the author of The Fight for Free Speech: Ten Cases That Define Our First Amendment Freedoms and the nonfiction graphic novel Free Speech Handbook (art by Mike Cavallaro).