Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News was brutal for the network in several ways, not the least of which was the evidence that reached the public. For example, we learned that the conservative outlet apparently deliberately promoted bogus election claims that they knew to be false in order to appease the public and make money.
The good news for the network is that Dominion’s case is over and resolved in April 2023 with a $787.5 million settlement. The bad news for Fox is that this wasn’t the only case of its kind.
As 2024 opened, a New York judge ruled that a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Smartmatic, another voting technology company, against Fox could proceed. As 2025 rolls around, a state appeals court has reached the same conclusion. The New York Times reported:
An appeals court in New York state on Thursday denied a request by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation to dismiss part of a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit arising from broadcasting misinformation about the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuit, filed by voting technology company Smartmatic, is on track to go to trial in state court in Manhattan.
As the Times report further notes, the judges concluded that Smartmatic’s claims that Fox Corporation directed Fox News to “promote a disinformation campaign in post-election coverage, along with allegations of Fox Corporation’s active participation in Fox News Network’s daily activities in connection with that coverage” are sufficient to allow the lawsuit to proceed.
Time will tell what becomes of the case – another settlement remains a distinct possibility – but as the legal process progresses, it’s worth keeping in mind that Smartmatic’s lawsuit poses real dangers to Fox. The Washington Post published an analysis a while ago that helped summarize the significance of the dispute.
Many of the allegations against Smartmatic were similar to those against Dominion, and Smartmatic was often lumped in with Dominion in the same accusation. They include the false claims that Dominion machines used Smartmatic software to manipulate the election. They include the claim that Smartmatic has been used to manipulate elections before and that the alleged foreign links demonstrate that. Smartmatic’s software was also portrayed as eminently flawed and even deliberately hackable. Smartmatic was often seen as the de facto channel for stealing the election.
The Post’s report quotes University of Utah law professor RonNell Andersen Jones as saying, “Smartmatic’s lawsuit is in many ways even more compelling as a David-and-Goliath argument to present to a jury.” lay. The complaint insists that it played a completely minor and uncontroversial role in the election and that these damaging lies from Fox catapulted it to fame by catapulting it into undeserved infamy.
For its part, a Fox spokesperson said in a written statement: “We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial.” She added: “As a report prepared by our financial experts shows, Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality and prima facie designed to chill First Amendment freedoms.”
Watch this space.
This message updates our related previous reporting.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com