2nd Voting Tech Company Sues Fox, Giuliani

Smartmatic, a voting technology company dealing with fallout from false claims of election fraud, has sued Fox News, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and several Fox hosts for $2.7 billion. "We have no choice," said Antonio Mugica, the company's chief executive, CNN reports. "The disinformation campaign that was launched against us is an obliterating one." The suit says Fox and its hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro—as well as Giuliani and Powell—lied to viewers about the company while trying to get them to believe the presidential election was stolen from former President Trump. No evidence of such a plot against Trump has surfaced. "They needed someone to blame. They needed someone whom they could get others to hate," the suit says, adding, "Defendants decided to make Smartmatic the villain in their story."

Fox answered the suit, which was filed in New York state court, by saying, "We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend this meritless lawsuit in court." Powell said that she hadn't read the suit but that it sounds like it's "just another political maneuver motivated by the radical left that has no basis in fact or law." Giuliani hasn't commented yet. Dominion Voting Systems has filed a similar suit against Powell and Giuliani, making many of the same arguments. Smartmatic's filing said it has counted 100 "false statements and implications" aired on Fox that have damaged the company, per the Washington Post. "Fox is responsible for this disinformation campaign," Mugica said, "which has damaged democracy worldwide and irreparably harmed Smartmatic and other stakeholders who contribute to modern elections." (These lawsuits are a problem for right-wing media.)