Fox News to be tested on its coverage of the 2020 Election in Smartmatic case

On Tuesday, Fox News will once again attempt to stop a court from allowing a lawsuit regarding its 2020 election coverage to proceed to trial. During the hearing in Manhattan, attorneys for the network will request that a New York state judge prevent a jury from considering the defamation claims brought by election technology company Smartmatic.

Smartmatic filed the lawsuit in 2020, asserting that Fox News hosts and guests repeatedly made false allegations that the company manipulated voting machines to divert votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. The company is seeking $2.7 billion in damages.

This case is among several defamation suits targeting Fox News and other right-leaning media outlets following President Trumps unfounded claims that the 2020 election was rigged. In a related matter, Fox News settled a similar lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 for $787.5 million just before that trial was set to begin.

Emails revealed during Smartmatics discovery phase indicated that network hosts and executives were attempting to address audience concerns over Trumps defeat. Tucker Carlson, then a primetime host, tried to help viewers interpret the election results, while Sean Hannity criticized Carlson for questioning Trump lawyer Sidney Powells unverified claims of election fraud.

Smartmatic has not publicly responded to the hearing. Fox News stated that evidence demonstrates the companys reputation was already declining before any statements by Trumps legal team on the network, and that Smartmatic exaggerated its damages to attract attention and suppress free speech.

In October, Fox News sought to postpone the case pending a federal criminal case involving Smartmatic, in which the company was accused of bribing a Philippine official over its 2016 election operations. Smartmatic denied the allegations, and the judge denied the request to delay the defamation proceedings.

Fox News added, Following the criminal charges against Smartmatic in the Philippines and the governments efforts to introduce evidence about the companys activities in Venezuela and Los Angeles County, we are prepared to continue defending press freedom at the Summary Judgment hearing.

Author: Ava Mitchell