A voting technology company that was the target of false fraudulent claims related to the 2020 presidential election settled a defamation lawsuit against a conservative news organization on Tuesday.
The settlement between Florida-based Smartmatic Inc. and One America News Network Inc. over wild conspiracy theories that falsely claim they reversed votes and damaged former President Donald Trump's re-election bid. It's the latest development in a massive legal pushback by embroiled voting equipment companies.
“We have resolved our litigation with OANN through a confidential settlement,” the company said in a statement. A motion to dismiss the case was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia. Chip Babcock, a Houston attorney representing the news organization, confirmed the case had been resolved but said he could not disclose any terms of the settlement.
Smartmatic was an odd target for conspiracy theorists because the use of its voting technology and software was very limited. The system was used only in Los Angeles County, a Democratic stronghold in the state where Mr. Trump did not contest his loss and is not a presidential battleground state.
But the company has also provided voting services in Venezuela for years, and it has been linked to false claims that foreign companies are involved in a vast conspiracy to change the outcome of the election from Trump to Democrat Joe Biden. This was the trigger. Smartmatic is also actively pursuing lawsuits against Fox News and conservative news outlet Newsmax over similar complaints. Fox said it had a First Amendment right to air claims about the election that celebrities were promoting.
Last year, on the eve of the trial, Fox News accused Dominion Voting Systems, a much larger voting technology company, of having spread false claims that its equipment contributed to the manipulation. agreed to pay $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Election against Trump. Dominion has filed other ongoing defamation lawsuits, including one against One America News Network.
Among the lies about the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Biden won, are conspiracy theories about voting equipment and software. Numerous investigations, audits and recounts in presidential battleground states where Trump contested his defeat confirmed Biden's victory, with no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, faces federal and state charges related to his attempts to overturn the results.
