Quick Take
Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox News for defamation, alleging the news organization spread lies about the company after the 2020 election. After the suit was settled, social media posts falsely claimed that Fox and Dominion Voting Systems were owned by the same company, BlackRock. BlackRock does not own any shares of Dominion Voting Systems.
Full Story
In 2021, Dominion Voting Systems, which says its voting machines are used by more than 40% of U.S. voters, filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging the news organization and some of its commentators, including Tucker Carlson, spread lies about the company after the 2020 election.
The defamation suit was settled for $787.5 million on April 18.
“We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards,” Fox said in a statement after the settlement.
But after the suit was settled, posts on social media began to spread the false claim that Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems are owned by the same investment company, BlackRock.
“Dominion settled with Fox News…yes. Blackrock owns Fox News ..yes. Blackrock owns Dominion ..yes. So they sued themselves? Yes. So now they get to write off millions? ..Yes. Are we suckers for believing all this nonsense? YES,” read a post on Facebook.
“Blackrock owns a majority of Fox News and Dominion, Dominion(Blackrock) then sues Fox(Blackrock) and Tucker Carlson gets the boot,” actor Kevin Sorbo wrote in a viral tweet.
But BlackRock only owns a minority stake in Fox News and owns no shares of Dominion Voting Systems. So the company didn’t sue itself.
BlackRock responded to the social media claims with a tweet on April 26.
BlackRock, April 26: “BlackRock has no ownership stake in Dominion Voting Systems, and we are not involved in the hiring and firing of employees at public companies in which our clients are invested. Dominion Voting Systems is owned by a private equity firm that is not affiliated with BlackRock.”
BlackRock does have 59 million ownership shares in a separate company with a similar name, Dominion Energy, an energy company headquartered in Virginia.
BlackRock has 45.7 million shares in Fox Corp., representing 15.1% ownership.
Staple Street Capital, a private equity firm, owns a 76% stake in Dominion Voting Systems. John Poulos, the CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, owns 12% of the company. The rest is owned by other members of the company’s leadership.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
BlackRock. “About BlackRock in the U.S.” Accessed 3 May 2023.
BlackRock (@BlackRock). “BlackRock has no ownership stake in Dominion Voting Systems, and we are not involved in the hiring and firing of employees at public companies in which our clients are invested. Dominion Voting Systems is owned by a private equity firm that is not affiliated with BlackRock.” Twitter. 26 Apr 2023.
Fintel Ventures. “BlackRock Inc. ownership in D / Dominion Resources, Inc.” Accessed 3 May 2023.
Fintel Ventures. “BlackRock Inc. ownership in FOXA / Fox Corporation – Class A.” Accessed 3 May 2023.
Folkenflik, David and Mary Yang. “Fox News settles blockbuster defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems.” NPR. 18 Apr 2023.
Bloomberg. “Fox’s Dominion payout gives Staple Street Capital 1,500% return.” 19 Apr 2023.
PR Newswire. “Dominion Voting Systems Acquired by its Management Team and Staple Street Capital.” 16 Jul 2023.