Newsmax will pay $67 million to settle one of the last outstanding defamation lawsuits against a news organization for airing false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems – the same voting-technology company that had received a $787 million settlement from Fox News over its election coverage – brought the lawsuit against Newsmax. A trial was scheduled to begin in October.
In the lawsuit, filed in the months after the 2020 election, Dominion accused the cable news network of spreading false claims that the company's voting technology had been manipulated to help Joe Biden beat Donald Trump. Like other right-wing news networks, Newsmax featured Trump allies who promoted these conspiracies, including former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and supporter Mike Lindell of My Pillow.
Newsmax announced the settlement in an Aug. 15 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the document, the network paid $27 million of the settlement on that day; the rest will be paid by January 2027.
Multiple court rulings and investigations by election officials have found no widespread fraud was present in the 2020 election; even still, these debunked claims were still being echoed by factions of Trump supporters in 2024. Dominion has said the election lies caused the company and its employees extensive harm, including death threats and lost revenue.
"We are pleased to have settled this matter," a Dominion spokesperson said...
DENVER (AP) — The conservative network Newsmax will pay $67 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defaming a voting equipment company by spreading lies about President Donald Trump’s 2020 ele...