In a recent court order, both Fox News and Smartmatic have seen advancements in their claims. The legal dispute revolves around allegations that Fox News, in an effort to boost ratings, promoted a false narrative that Smartmatic was responsible for unfairly causing former President Donald Trump to lose the election.
Following Fox News’ decision to pay nearly $800 million to avoid a trial over accusations of defaming Dominion Voting System, a New York state supreme court judge issued an order on Wednesday. The judge ruled that Smartmatic must face Fox News’ counterclaims, which accuse the voting machine company of attempting to suppress the network’s speech by bringing a $2.7 billion lawsuit. The court’s decision was based, in part, on the absence of a verdict concluding that Fox News defamed Dominion Voting Systems.
However, the court also refused to dismiss Smartmatic’s suit against Fox, finding that the company had “sufficiently alleged” that the network’s employees played a role in the publication of the defamation and acted with malice.
Despite Fox’s settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, the network continues to face legal challenges over broadcasting far-right conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Last year, Fox Corp.’s board of directors was sued for allegedly prioritizing profits by intentionally broadcasting falsehoods and disregarding the risk of defamation claims.
The core of the dispute lies in allegations that Fox, in pursuit of higher ratings, capitalized on the popularity of former President Donald Trump by fabricating a narrative that Smartmatic caused him to unfairly lose the election.
The defamatory statements in question include claims that Smartmatic is a Venezuelan company controlled by corrupt dictators from socialist and communist countries, that its election technology was used in six swing states with close outcomes, that its software was designed to “rig” elections by switching votes, and that the company had been banned from participating in prior U.S. elections.
