Newsmax paid $40 million to settle defamation suit over 2020 election claims

Cable outlet Newsmax Media has paid $40 million to settle allegations it defamed Smartmatic by reporting false claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 U.S. election for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, according to a regulatory filing.

The companies settled privately last year, but the amount was disclosed in a Newsmax investor document dated March 7.

Representatives of Newsmax and Smartmatic did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

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

Smartmatic alleged that Newsmax profited from its false reporting. Trump amplified Newsmax’s reporting on social media and the broadcaster’s audience jumped 10-fold after the election, vaulting it over cable news rivals such as CNBC and Fox Business, according to Nielsen Ratings.

Newsmax said it had a First Amendment right to report claims by Trump and his supporters, which were often made in court filings challenging the election.

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

Smartmatic did not publicly estimate the damages at stake, but Newsmax told the court on September 16 the voting machine company was seeking $400 million to $600 million.

Smartmatic has sued Fox News in New York for $2.7 billion over that conservative network’s 2020 election coverage.

Fox agreed to settle defamation claims by Dominion Voting Systems last year for $787.5 million, which legal experts said was the biggest defamation settlement by a U.S. media company in history.