Newsmax settles Smartmatic defamation lawsuit over false 2020 election claims

Newsmax Media announced Thursday that it has reached a confidential settlement over allegations that the conservative outlet harmed Smartmatic by airing false claims that the voting machine company helped steal the 2020 U.S. presidential election from Donald Trump.

The settlement came on the eve of a four-week jury trial, with opening arguments scheduled to begin in Wilmington, Delaware, on September 30.

Smartmatic sued Newsmax in 2021, alleging that it spread harmful misinformation, falsely claiming that the company changed votes in the 2020 election, that its machines were hacked, and that it was funded by corrupt dictators.

Smartmatic claimed that Newsmax benefited from the false reporting. Trump boosted Newsmax’s social media reporting, and the broadcaster’s audience grew 10-fold after the election, tossing it ahead of cable news rivals CNBC and Fox Business, according to Nielsen Ratings.

Smartmatic machines were only used in Los Angeles County in the 2020 election, and it said there has never been a security breach with its equipment, which has recorded billions of votes, mostly in non-US elections.

The news institute, which, like US affiliate Smartmatic, is based in Boca Raton, Fla., said it had the right to report claims by Trump and his supporters under the First Amendment, which were often made in the filings courts that challenged the elections.

The company also clarified its reports about Smartmatic in December 2020 and invited Smartmatic representatives to come on the show to explain their side of the story to Newsmax viewers. Smartmatic did not accept that invitation.

Newsmax, in a statement just before the trial, said it was “ridiculous” that Smartmatic could claim defamation, given that the company’s president was indicted on bribery charges in August. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that Newsmax would not be allowed to tell the jury about the indictment.

The voting machine company sought more than $1 billion in damages. Newsmax described the trial as a “bet your company” case.

False claims about the 2020 election have resulted in several defamation settlements or verdicts.

Fox News and Fox Corp agreed to settle defamation claims by Dominion Voting Systems last year for $787.5 million, which was the largest defamation settlement by a US media company, according to legal experts.

Conservative broadcaster One American News Network reached a settlement with Smartmatic, Newsmax with a Dominion Voting Systems employee and Fox with a Venezuelan businessman. The terms of those agreements were confidential.

A jury ruled last year that Trump’s former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, had to pay more than $148 million in damages to two former election workers in Georgia whom he defamed by falsely accusing them of helping to rig the U.S. election. 2020 against Trump.

Meanwhile, Smartmatic is suing Fox in New York for $2.7 billion, and Dominion is seeking up to $1.6 billion in damages against Newsmax, also in Delaware court.

Newsmax said in an investor presentation in June that it expects to conduct an initial public offering of its stock this year or early next year and expects 2024 revenue of $181 million.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot)