Smartmatic Files Defamation Claims Against Newsmax and One America News Network

Smartmatic Files Defamation Claims Against Newsmax and One America News Network

On Wednesday, Smartmatic, the electoral systems business, filed defamation lawsuits against two additional news sources, Newsmax and One America News Network, for making misleading statements concerning the 2020 presidential election.

Smartmatic’s attorney, J. Eric Connolly, claims that Newsmax and OAN “victimized Smartmatic by distributing false information about the firm after last year’s election, all in their attempts to boost viewership and money.”

The complaint against Newsmax was filed in Delaware Superior Court (read it here). The case against OANN was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (read it here). Both complaints seek undisclosed monetary damages.

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According to Smartmatic, Newsmax “could not grab more viewers after the 2020 U.S. election (or draw them away from Fox News) by releasing these facts, so it opted to engage in the dissemination of another narrative.” The following three features were included in Newsmax’s story: (a) tell its audience that it was the sole source for fact-based news, (b) tell its audience that the 2020 U.S. election was rigged and stolen from President Trump, and (c) tell its audience that anybody who denied that the 2020 U.S. election was rigged and stolen was lying.”

According to the firm, Newsmax released hundreds of allegations showing that Smartmatic was involved in a “criminal conspiracy” to rig the election results, and that “its equipment and software were utilized to swap votes from former President Trump to currently President Biden.” According to the Smartmatic complaint, viewership increased as a consequence of the conspiratorial assertions, with its audience increasing by 900 percent.

Smartmatic sent a retraction letter to Newsmax in December, prompting the publication to do a fact check on charges that Smartmatic was engaged in election manipulation.

According to Smartmatic’s complaint, Newsmax “acknowledged it had no proof for what it had been posting about Smartmatic for over a month.” Newsmax has no proof to back up what its hosts were stating. ” It referred to the retraction as “too little, too late.”

“As other news organizations openly stated that they had found no evidence to substantiate charges of election fraud or voting machines swapping votes, OANN insulted those news organizations and dug down on its assaults on voting machines,” Smartmatic alleged in the OANN complaint. OANN was well aware that its claims concerning Smartmatic were false. OANN had found no evidence to back up the claims. However, OANN opted to disseminate misinformation.”

During the 2020 U.S. election, Smartmatic offered election technology and services to Los Angeles County, but not to the rest of the nation. According to the complaint, “OANN released report after report citing Smartmatic as one of the voting system firms conspiring to steal the election by moving votes from former President Trump to current President Biden.” Everything was a lie. And OANN was aware of it.”

Smartmatic is awaiting a judgment from a New York court on whether its defamation action against Fox News and several of the network’s hosts and guests may go forward.

Dominion Voting Systems is also suing Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN for election claims made after the 2020 presidential election. Fox News has asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed.

“While Newsmax has yet to receive or review the Smartmatic filing, Newsmax reported accurately 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,” a Newsmax spokesperson said in a statement. Smartmatic’s move against Newsmax today is an obvious effort to stifle free press rights.”

OANN’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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