Newsmax and One America News Network have been added to the list of defendants by Smartmatic, the voting technology company that is suing Fox News, some of its hosts, and pro-Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell for defamation.
On the one-year anniversary of Election Day 2020, Smartmatic’s lawyers filed defamation claims against the two hard-right TV networks.
In a statement, J. Erik Connolly, one of the attorneys representing Smartmatic, said, “Despite claims to provide viewers with honest, unbiased reporting, these outlets victimized Smartmatic by spreading false information about the company following last year’s election, all in their efforts to increase viewership and revenue.”
Smartmatic has launched a lawsuit against Newsmax Media in Delaware’s Superior Court. Newsmax “published scores of reports showing that Smartmatic participated in a criminal conspiracy to rig and steal the 2020 United States election, and that its technology and software were utilized to swap votes from former President Trump to now President Biden,” according to the lawsuit.
Newsmax was accused of spreading election-related misinformation “as a tactic in its competitiveness against Fox News,” according to the lawsuit.
When Fox named Joe Biden as the president-elect, Newsmax’s ratings skyrocketed. Newsmax allegedly tried to pander to Trump supporters by refusing to accept Biden’s victory for weeks and defaming Smartmatic, according to the lawsuit.
“What Newsmax asserted about Smartmatic was false, but the harm it caused to Smartmatic was real,” according to the filing on Wednesday.
Herring Networks, the owner of One America News, was sued in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to the lawsuit, One America News aired numerous pieces last winter that promoted false allegations of electoral fraud.
It could have been a mistake the first time it happened. The second, third, fourth, and fifty-first times it occurred were all deliberate decisions “The lawyers penned the letter. “After the 2020 election for President and Vice President of the United States, OANN had every opportunity to do the right thing. It had the opportunity to report the truth. Instead, OANN consistently opted to do the wrong thing. It published a fabrication.
In the complaints, Smartmatic claims that both networks are responsible for “disinformation campaigns” that hurt the company and had a negative impact on its operations. Smartmatic made the same accusation against Fox News in February when it filed a $2.7 billion defamation complaint against the network. Fox has attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed.
In August, Dominion, a voting technology business, filed a slander complaint against the two networks. (Fox was already sued by Dominion in March.)
“While Newsmax has not yet received or reviewed the Smartmatic filing, Newsmax has accurately reported on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors, and members of Congress, as well as reporting on Smartmatic’s claims in its defense,” Newsmax said in a statement to CNN Business Wednesday. “Smartmatic’s action against Newsmax today is an obvious attempt to stifle free press rights.”
OAN representatives did not respond to a request for comment from CNN Business.
When the Dominion complaint was filed, OAN didn’t respond, although the network previously argued that it wasn’t responsible for broadcasting other people’s views.
Credit: CNN