Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
News conglomerate Fox News finds itself fighting against not one, but two multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuits over its post-2020 election reporting. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits are the companies that ran electronic voting machines used during the election. In their complaints, the plaintiffs accuse Fox News and its on-air hosts of engaging in a smear campaign against them which involved making numerous false statements accusing the companies of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to change votes and decide the outcome of the 2020 election in favor of now-President Joe Biden. Fox News has countered that all of its allegedly defamatory statements are protected under the First Amendment as statements about matters of public concern. One of the companies, Smartmatic, has responded, arguing that Fox News’ statements were calculated falsehoods and thus enjoy no First Amendment immunity.
According to Smartmatic, it was founded in 2000 “to bring secure technology to elections and build an election technology company that could ensure accuracy, transparency, and auditability.” Smartmatic claims that the 2020 election was intended to be the launching point for the company as it had been selected to run the electronic voting for Los Angeles County. Days after the election, Smartmatic alleges, Fox News embarked on a disinformation campaign against it. In the weeks following the 2020 election, Smartmatic claims that Fox News broadcast 12 shows, posted 9 videos and transcripts online, and posted 20 comments and videos on social media about Smartmatic. Many of these references to Smartmatic allegedly involve accusations that it rigged the election against then-President Trump.
Additionally, Smartmatic claims that Fox News repeatedly invited then-President Trump’s attorneys, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, onto its broadcasts where Guiliani and Powell allegedly stated that Smartmatic was founded to “fix elections” and “alter votes,” its technology is “extremely hackable,” it was “banned by the United States,” its technology was “corrupt” and “switched votes,” it has an “algorithm” used to “modify the votes,” and Smartmatic was part of “one huge criminal conspiracy” to manipulate the 2020 election. Smartmatic filed suit against Fox News, several of its on-air hosts, Guiliani, and Powell seeking $2.7 billion in damages, making it one of the largest defamation complaints ever filed. Continue reading ›