Voting Tech Firm, Conservative Outlet Reach Settlement in Election Defamation Case
The confidential settlement was announced just a few hours after jury selection began in the lawsuit filed by Florida-based Smartmatic against Newsmax.
Delaware Judge Sets Parameters for Trial in Smartmatic Defamation Lawsuit
Smartmatic claims that Newsmax program hosts and guests made false and defamatory statements implying they participated in rigging the results of the 2020 election.
Fox News To Pursue Claims That Voting Firm’s Defamation Suit Is Anti-Free Speech
Smartmatic says Fox News spread ruinous lies that the voting company helped rig the 2020 election against then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Judge Rules that Smartmatic’s $2.7 Billion Defamation Suit Against Fox News Can Proceed
On March 9th, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that voting technology company Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and Rudy Giuliani can proceed. In his ruling, Judge David Cohen said that Giuliani repeatedly made claims “without any evidence” and “without any basis” that Smartmatic tried to tip the 2020 presidential election in Joe Biden’s favor.
Smartmatic Sues MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for Defamation
Smartmatic, a voting technology company, sued MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for defamation on January 18th. The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, begins, “Crazy like a fox. Mike Lindell know exactly what he is doing, and it is dangerous.”
Dominion Voting Systems Sues Fox for Defamation
The voting technology company is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion in damages for spreading false information that their technology was used to rig the 2020 presidential election.
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.”