Dominion Sues Two Conservative News Networks and a Trump Ally for Defamation
On August 10th, Dominion Voting Systems filed three separate $1.6 billion defamation suits against two conservative news networks and a Trump ally. The three suits are the latest in a series of billion dollar defamation lawsuits filed by Dominion related to alleged disinformation relating to the 2020 presidential election.
Fox News Seeks Dismissal of $1.6 Billion Defamation Suit
On May 18th, Fox News filed a motion to dismiss the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed against it by Dominion Voting Systems, an election technology company used in more than two dozen states during the 2020 presidential election.
MyPillow CEO Sues Dominion Voting Systems for $1.6 Billion
On April 19th, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell filed a suit accusing Dominion Voting Systems of violating his First Amendment rights for filing a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against him. Lindell accuses Dominion of engaging in an “illegal campaign to punish and silence their critics.”
Sidney Powell Asks Court To Toss Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.3 Billion Defamation Lawsuit
In a motion submitted on Monday, Powell’s lawyers argue that her statements are not actionable under defamation law because she made them as an advocate-attorney of Donald Trump. Dean of Missouri Law School Lyrissa Lidsky called this argument absurd: "Attorneys have ethical obligations not to lie, and she made the false statements in her capacity as an attorney."
Dominion Voting Systems Files $1.3 Billion Defamation Suit Against My Pillow CEO
Dominion lawyers are arguing that Mike Lindell used conspiracy theories about election fraud and voter rigging to promote his business.
Are Defamation Lawsuits Being Used to Rein in Disinformation Spread by News Outlets?
Using defamation suits to combat misinformation has some free speech advocates uneasy, as the First Amendment provides broad protections for news organizations.
Fox’s lawyers argue that they had a First Amendment privilege to report newsworthy allegations–even false ones–in a neutral way. They also claim that Smartmatic failed to establish a key requirement of a defamation claim—that Piro, Dobbs, and Bartiromo acted with “actual malice.”
Smartmatic Sues Fox News For $2.7 Billion Over Election Fraud Claims
Smartmatic claims Fox spread lies about the company it knew weren't true in order to curry favor with then-President Trump and his base. The company expects it will lose almost $500 million in the next five years due to the impact the lies have had on its business.