Newsmax defamation trial over 2020 election claims underway

Media company Newsmax’s defamation trial began Thursday, Sept. 26, over rhetoric concerning the 2020 presidential election. Voting machine company Smartmatic claims Newsmax damaged the election tech company by alleging it changed votes and helped steal the election from former President Donald Trump.

The trial in Wilmington, Delaware, begins with the selection of 12 jurors to decide if Newsmax deliberately misrepresented the 2020 election to harm Smartmatic or if it fairly reported Trump and his allies’ claims.

The case resembles the Dominion Voting Systems vs. Fox News lawsuit from 2021, in which Dominion accused Fox News of peddling lies about its voting machine technology, claiming Dominion’s voting machines changed votes from Trump to Biden. Fox News settled with Dominion last year for nearly $800 million.

During the Newsmax trial, Smartmatic must prove to a jury that the channel acted with actual malice by either knowingly airing false claims about Smartmatic’s role in the election or by recklessly ignoring the truth.

Newsmax released a statement Wednesday, Sept. 25, saying it “reported accurately on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the president, his advisers and members of Congress, as well as reporting on Smartmatic’s claims in its defense.”

The judge in the case ruled Monday, Sept. 23, that Smartmatic may not ask for punitive damages related to the case, stating, “There is no evidence that Newsmax acted with evil intent towards Smartmatic.”

Smartmatic is also suing Fox News, with a trial expected in 2025.