Fox News Faces Grilling in Defamation Lawsuit Over Election Coverage
Voting technology firm Smartmatic Corp has accused Fox News of executing a coordinated disinformation campaign, claiming that the network spread false narratives about the firm conspiring against Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election. In response, Fox News is seeking the dismissal of a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit, with a hearing taking place in Manhattan on Tuesday.
During the hearing, Justice David Cohen questioned Fox News about its extensive coverage of false claims made by former anchor Lou Dobbs that Smartmatic conspired against Donald Trump in the election. Dobbs repeatedly claimed on air in November and December that there was new, “groundbreaking” evidence of voter fraud, even after such claims had been debunked by US officials. Fox News attorney Paul Clement argued that Dobbs’ statements were his opinion and were widely shared at the time.
Fox News contends that Dobbs, as well as Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, were exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech and were reporting on claims made by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell, who are also named in the lawsuit. Giuliani and Powell had been asserting that they had substantial evidence of voter fraud. However, no evidence has been presented to support these claims.
The repercussions of these false claims are significant, as they continue to fuel the belief among millions of Americans that massive voter fraud led to Trump’s defeat in the election. Such beliefs played a role in the deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6, carried out by a mob of Trump’s supporters.
Fox News is also facing a similar Defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems Inc., whose technology is used in numerous states. While Dominion’s suits against Giuliani and Powell have been allowed to proceed, a federal judge ruled that they failed to provide evidence to support their conspiracy theory.
Smartmatic’s lawyer, Erik Connolly, argued that Fox’s reports were not protected because the false claims did not stem from coverage of a legitimate government investigation. He accused the network of collaborating with Giuliani and Powell to disseminate their message. Connolly also contested Fox’s assertion that Dobbs had additional protection because his show was based on opinions rather than fact-based reporting, stating that Fox and Dobbs presented the show as a news program.
Earlier this year, Fox canceled Dobbs’s nightly show, although the network claimed it was part of pre-existing changes. The case, Smartmatic USA Corp. v. Fox Corp., is being heard in the Supreme Court of the State of New York (Manhattan).
In conclusion, Fox News is facing scrutiny in a defamation lawsuit for its coverage of the election, with Smartmatic accusing the network of spreading false narratives. The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for the responsibility of news organizations in reporting accurate information and the consequences of disseminating false claims.
Original Story at www.aljazeera.com – 2021-08-17 07:00:00