Smartmatic, a voting technology company, sued right-wing U.S. television networks One America News and Newsmax on Wednesday, claiming they must be held liable for propagating conspiracy theories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Smartmatic accused OAN and Newsmax in separate lawsuits of willfully disseminating false accusations that the voting technology business manipulated the election against then-President Donald Trump.
According to Smartmatic, the networks increased their use of bogus statements to win over Trump voters who were disgruntled with Fox News Network's election coverage.
The privately held corporation filed a lawsuit against San Diego-based OAN in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit was filed in Delaware state court against Newsmax, which is located in West Palm Beach, Florida.
In a statement, a Newsmax representative said: "While Newsmax has yet to receive or review the Smartmatic filing, it has accurately reported on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisers, and members of Congress, as well as Smartmatic's claims in its defense. Smartmatic's action against Newsmax today is a clear attempt to squelch free press rights."
Smartmatic has not stated how much money it is asking from Newsmax and OAN, but it has stated that electoral conspiracy theories have devalued the firm by $2 billion. Damages due by each defendant will be assessed at trial, according to the statement.
Smartmatic, based in Boca Raton, Florida, sued New York-based Fox News, its parent company Fox Corp (FOXA.O), and several Fox hosts in a New York state court in February, alleging they falsely accused the company of assisting in the rigging of the U.S. presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.
Smartmatic also sued two lawyers affiliated with Trump's Republican re-election campaign, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who promoted the election-rigging conspiracy theory in that lawsuit.
According to Smartmatic's complaint, in that case, the defendants should pay a total of $2.7 billion in monetary damages.
Fox News and its co-defendants have urged a judge to dismiss the case, claiming that their comments on Smartmatic were protected free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Powell, and Giuliani are also being sued for slander by Dominion Voting Systems, another privately held voting technology business that has been the victim of a bogus conspiracy.
