Newsmax paid $40 million to resolve honour-loss lawsuits beyond election claims in more than 2020

Cable Outlet Newsmax Media has paid $40 million to resolve allegations that it slandered Smartmatic by reporting false claims that the voting machine company supported Joe Biden’s 2020 US election rig against Donald Trump, according to regulatory filings.

The company personally settled last year, but the amount was disclosed in a Newsmax Investor document dated March 7th.

Representatives from Newsmax and SmartMatic did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Smartmatic sued Newsmax in 2021, claiming that the company switched votes in the 2020 presidential election, and that the machine was hacked and falsely claimed false information that it was funded by a corrupt dictator.

Smartmatic alleged that Newsmax benefited from false reports. According to Nielsen Ratings, Trump amplified Newsmax reports on social media and broadcaster audiences, with broadcaster audiences jumping 10 times since the election, winning cable news rivals such as CNBC and Fox Business.

Newsmax said it has the first right to amend the claims made by Trump and his supporters, which were often made in court applications challenging elections.

The company clarified its report on SmartMatic in December 2020, and invited SmartMatic representatives to air it to Newsmax audiences to explain aspects of the story. SmartMatic did not accept the invitation.

SmartMatic did not publicly estimate any harm at risk, but Newsmax told the court on September 16 that the voting machine company had been seeking between $400 million and $600 million.

SmartMatic sued New York’s Fox News for $2.7 billion over the conservative network’s 2020 election coverage.

Fox agreed to settle a delinquent loss claim from the Dominion Voting System for $787.5 million last year. This is a legal expert who said that the US media company is the biggest honour and loss settlement in history.