Voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic may sue media giant Fox for defamation following reporting on the 2020 American elections. A judge in New York rejected Fox’s request to dismiss the case on Wednesday.
During Fox News broadcasts, it was alleged that the presidential election results had been manipulated using voting machines from Smartmatic and those from Dominion, another voting machine maker that Fox News sued last year. The media group settled the Dominion case and paid the company almost 788 million dollars (725 million euros) of the 1.6 billion that the company had demanded. Smartmatic is seeking $2.7 billion in the new case.
Earlier Wednesday, the judge ruled in favor of Fox News, ruling that the company can proceed with a countersuit, in which it claims that Smartmatic grossly exaggerates the damage suffered.
Fox News has always maintained that the theories shared during its broadcasts fall under free speech rights and that the company’s journalists were merely discussing allegations made by then-President Donald Trump and his supporters.
Then-Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch has said The New York Times However, Dominion admitted during testimony in Dominion’s lawsuit that some of its TV hosts endorsed Trump’s claims. Internal communications also made it clear that the makers of Fox News knew very well that the stories about election fraud were incorrect.
The Dominion settlement ended Fox News’ partnership with popular host Tucker Carlson, who had regularly repeated claims on his program about the company’s machines.
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