Smartmatic is suing Fox News over their reporting on election voting machines. Smartmatic has sued Fox for $2.7 billion.
Fox News aired multiple segments making unfounded allegations about Smartmatic’s purported role in helping Biden to win.
Lawsuit Details
It is a defamation and disparagement lawsuit, alleging that Fox was part of a “disinformation campaign” waged by people upset that Joe Biden won the election.
Before filing the suit, Smartmatic sent a letter to Fox demanding that they stop circulating lies about the company on-air.
The lawsuit names Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, who all work for Fox News, along with Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who worked as lawyers for Donald Trump.
In the lawsuit, Smartmatic says, “They knew the election was not rigged or fixed. They knew these truths just as they knew the Earth is round and two plus two equals four.”
Fox News Response
Fox News released a press release responding to the lawsuit: “FOX News Media is committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion. We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend this meritless lawsuit in court.”
Fallout
The day after the lawsuit was announced, Fox announced that they were cancelling “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the network’s highest rated program. Dobbs promoted many of the false conspiracy theories about voting machines on his program.
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.