Voting technology company Smartmatic on Wednesday sued fascist propaganda television networks One America News and Newsmax, saying they must be held accountable for spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Reuters reports, Newsmax, One America News sued by voting technology firm Smartmatic:
In separate lawsuits, Smartmatic accused OAN and Newsmax of knowingly spreading false claims that the voting technology company rigged the election against then-President Donald Trump.
Smartmatic says the networks doubled down on the false claims as part of an effort to win over Trump supporters dissatisfied with Fox News Network’s election coverage.
The privately owned company sued San Diego-based OAN in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case against Newsmax, which is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, was filed in state court in Delaware [because it is a “Delaware Corp” for favorable tax treatment.]
[S]martmatic did not say how much money it is demanding from Newsmax and OAN, but said election conspiracy theories have erased $2 billion in value from the company. Damages owed by each of the defendants will be determined at trial, it said.
Smartmatic, whose U.S. headquarters is in Boca Raton, Florida, in February sued New York-based Fox News, its parent Fox Corp and several Fox hosts in a New York state court, alleging they falsely accused the company of helping rig the U.S. presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.
In that case, Smartmatic also sued two lawyers aligned with Trump’s Republican re-election campaign, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who pushed the election-rigging conspiracy theory.
Smartmatic’s lawsuit in that case stated the defendants should pay a combined $2.7 billion in monetary damages.
Fox News and its co-defendants have asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing their commentary on Smartmatic was free speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Business defamation is not protected free speech. FIRST AMENDMENT: FREEDOM OF SPEECH & FREEDOM OF THE PRESS DEFAMATION: “Defamation has always acted as a limit on both the freedom of speech as well as the freedom of the press. There is no such thing as a false opinion or idea – however, there can be a false fact, and these are not protected under the First Amendment.”
Smartmatic is not a public official under the Times v. Sullivan actual malice standard. Even under that standard, Smartmatic would prevail by showing that these fascist propaganda television networks acted “with ‘actual malice’– that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard” for truth. They most certainly did.
Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Powell and Giuliani also face defamation claims brought by Dominion Voting Systems, another privately owned voting technology company that found itself at the center of false conspiracy theories in the weeks after the November 2020 election.
Like Smartmatic, Denver-based Dominion is seeking billions of dollars in damages. Dominion has sued other individuals as well, including My Pillow Inc founder Mike Lindell.
Dominion scored an early victory in August when a judge allowed its defamation claims against Powell, Giuliani, and Lindell to advance toward trial.
Sue these fascist propagandists out of existence for promoting Trump’s Big Lie.
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