Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody: 

The True Story of Lies and Libel in Dominion v. Fox

Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody:  

The True Story of Lies and Libel in Dominion v. Fox

will be published September 1, 2026 by NYU Press 

The definitive story of Dominion v. Fox, the battle over election lies that changed the future of democracy

Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network is the watershed media case of the century. After an onslaught of attacks by several Fox News hosts and guests insisting that Dominion’s voting machines were rigged to steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump, the previously little-known voting technology company decided to fight back. Over the next two years, their libel litigation laid bare the inner workings of the seemingly unassailable Fox Corporation and the thoughts of the media conglomerate’s most high-profile stars, guests, and executives.

On the morning the trial was set to begin, the parties reached an unprecedented settlement of $787.5 million. The media lamented that secrets from Fox’s top talent and owners would never come to light, but now the full, shocking truth has finally been revealed. Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody exposes the true story of the election lies that shook Fox News and the nation. Media lawyer and author Ian Rosenberg transforms thousands of pages of legal documents into a compelling behind-the-scenes narrative. He 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 will fundamentally impact the future of libel law, the media, and our democracy.

Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody provides a clear-eyed, expert analysis of this history-making lawsuit, and what it means for our country today.

Advance Praise for Terrible Stuff Damaging Everbody 

"Veteran media lawyer Ian Rosenberg takes us behind the scenes and shows us not just the legal drama but the human drama that made Dominion's showdown with Fox a signature moment for democracy and press freedom in a time when truth itself is under attack." 

~David McCraw, author of Truth in Our Times: Inside the Fight for Press Freedom in the Age of Alternative Facts

"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, Alexander Meiklejohn Professor of Political Science Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"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, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law Emeritus, Harvard Law School

"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