Fox News, Rudy Giuliani face $2.7 billion lawsuit by Smartmatic [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corporation and some news anchors, and former President Donald Trump’s attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, Thursday.
• The company claimed that the Fox News’ broadcasting of false information has “irreparably harmed” them.
• Voting tech company Dominion also filed a $1.3 defamation lawsuit against Giuliani and Powell last month.

Fox Corporation now faces a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Smartmatic, the electronic voting systems company that served the November elections.

The lawsuit came following the news outlet’s airing of baseless claims that massive voter fraud happened in the 2020 presidential election.

Even as election officials and federal authorities announced that the November 3 election was the “most secured” election in US history, Fox Corporation became an instrument of spreading conspiracy theories — suggesting that Smartmatic was an ‘accomplice’ of the ‘rigged election.’

Based on the lawsuit which was filed on Thursday, Fox Corporation, through Fox News Media, paved the way in promoting the dissemination of false information which “irreparably harmed” the company.

Smartmatic lawyer J. Erik Connolly said that Fox News lied “knowingly and intentionally” against the company.

“Fox News engaged in a conspiracy to spread disinformation about Smartmatic… Smartmatic seeks to hold them accountable for those lies,” Connolly said in a statement.

The complaint, which was filed at the New York State Court in Manhattan on Thursday, has listed the following as defendants: Fox Corporation and Fox News LLC, Fox Business hosts Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo, and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. Former President Donald Trump’s legal counsel attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell were also included in the suit.

The complaint alleged that in the last two months of 2020, Fox News aired stories suggesting how Smartmatic “fixed and rigged the election.” It claimed that the defendants, including Giuliani and Powell, who were regular guests on the network’s shows, have maliciously spread fake news.

A spokesman from Fox News Media said that the network “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.”

The spokesman also argued that there were multiple segments where Fox News featured other sources saying Smartmatic has not done something that would have tainted the election results, particularly Open Source Election Technology Institute global director Edward Perez. 

“I have not seen any evidence that Smartmatic software was used to delete, change, alter, anything related to vote tabulation,” Perez said in the footages broadcasted by the network.

Last month, election tech firm Dominion also filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Giuliani and Powell in connection with the false claims that the voting systems company was involved in a treacherous act regarding the 2020 election results.

Source: Newsweek