Today is Friday, February 5, 2021. Here’s what you need to know:
Good morning,
Smartmatic, a producer and implementer of electronic voting systems across the planet, has filed a lawsuit against Fox News and Rudy Giuliani, the former lawyer of President Trump. The lawsuit alleges defamation from the cable network and lawyer, following claims of election fraud during the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle. The electronic voting company is seeking $2.7 billion in damages.
Smartmatic filed the lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court on Thursday. Though the Fox Corporation is a multi-billion dollar operation, $2.7 billion would total about 15% of its total value.
The 2020 U.S. presidential election was a battleground for misinformation and baseless claims of election fraud –– almost exclusively targeting companies such as Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems, another election technology company. For companies such as these, reputation is everything.
“This is a first step in trying to recover our reputation and trying to set the record straight,” said Antonio Mugica, the Smartmatic Chief Executive.
Other people cited in the lawsuit against the Fox Corporation are anchors Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. Sidney Powell, another lawyer who aided Trump’s election fraud claims, is included as she was a guest on Fox News and made various statements surrounding the integrity of Smartmatic machines.
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Digital Director
