Voting technology company Smartmatic filed defamation complaints Wednesday against Newsmax Media and One America News Network (OANN) owner Herring Networks over the outlets’ coverage of the 2020 presidential election.
The complaints allege the two conservative news outlets defamed the voting machine company and damaged its reputation by broadcasting false claims about Smartmatic’s role in the 2020 presidential election. The suit against OANN was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, while the Newsmax complaint was filed in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware.
“Despite claims to provide viewers with honest, unbiased reporting, these outlets victimized Smartmatic by spreading false information about the company following last year’s election, all in their efforts to increase viewership and revenue,” J. Erik Connolly, attorney for Smartmatic, said in a press release.
Picture of the logo of Smartmatic, the firm that supplies Venezuela’s voting technology, seen on a sliding door at the headquarters of the company in Caracas, on August 2, 2017. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
The complaints specifically allege that the news outlets told their audience that Smartmatic was used to change votes in the 2020 presidential election, handing now-President Joe Biden the victory over Donald Trump. The complaints allege OANN and Newsmax were aware the claims were false, but broadcasted them anyways.
Smartmatic accused the outlets of spreading disinformation about the election to boost their ratings.
“OANN knew it was not true. OANN had seen no evidence to support the assertion. But OANN chose to spread disinformation,” the complaint against OANN read. (RELATED: ‘Back-Door Meetings’: Lawsuit Alleges Elections Agency Secretly Met With Voting Machine Vendors To Weaken Security Standards)
The voting machine company previously sued Fox News for its coverage of the 2020 election, as well as Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, alleging similar harms to Smartmatic’s reputation.
“The damage to Smartmatic from this parallel universe of lies and disinformation has reverberated across the United States and in dozens of countries around the world,” Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic CEO, said in the press release. “The global repercussions for our company cannot be overstated.”
Neither OANN nor Newsmax immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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