Newsmax agreed to pay $40 million to settle defamation suit over 2020 false election claims
(Reuters) -Newsmax Media has agreed to pay $40 million to settle allegations it defamed Smartmatic by reporting false claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 U.S. election for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, according to a filing.
The company settled last year, but the terms had been confidential.
The amount was disclosed in a Newsmax regulatory filing dated March 7.
Smartmatic sued Newsmax in 2021, alleging it broadcast damaging misinformation falsely claiming the company switched votes in the 2020 presidential election, that its machines were hacked and that it was funded by corrupt dictators.
Smartmatic alleged that Newsmax profited from its false reporting. Trump amplified Newsmax’s reporting on social media and the broadcaster’s audience jumped 10-fold after the election, vaulting it over cable news rivals such as CNBC and Fox Business, according to Nielsen Ratings.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
