BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Smartmatic today presented overwhelming evidence that Fox not only defamed the company, but did so knowingly and deliberately, at the direction of Rupert Murdoch and senior leadership, in a desperate attempt to retain angry viewers. A legal filing submitted in New York highlights that Fox’s reckless actions not only inflicted damage on Smartmatic, but undermined Americans’ faith in free and fair elections.
“Fox lies again. Internal communications reveal that they knew there was no credible evidence of Smartmatic participating in election fraud, yet they deliberately chose to promote false narratives against the company anyway. These communications show contempt against their viewers, the country and the President,” Smartmatic stated.
Smartmatic’s filing stems from the defamation lawsuit against Fox over its promotion of false claims about the company’s role in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
“This is not a case about freedom of the press,” said Erik Connolly, external legal counsel for Smartmatic. “This is about a media empire choosing to lie for ratings and profit, no matter the consequences and no matter the damage done.”
Fox’s Campaign of Deception
The opposition brief details how, despite evidence proving that they knew the accusations were baseless, Fox executives and hosts internally described Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell as “crazy,” “nuts,” “bonkers,” and “comic book stuff.” Yet, they promoted their outlandish conspiracy theories against Smartmatic.
Internal Fox communications confirm that no one at the network had any evidence implicating Smartmatic. Yet, across 66 broadcasts and publications, Fox mentioned Smartmatic more than 100 times — part of what the brief calls “one of the most destructive disinformation campaigns in American history.”
Both sides have filed motions asking the court to rule in its favor. However, most of the important information in the motions is currently redacted. Smartmatic has told the court that it supports transparency and believes most, if not all, of the information should be unredacted and available to the public. Fox has not. The New York Times recently filed a motion to gain access to the filings, a motion Smartmatic supports.
Separately, the Court is considering a motion to hold Fox accountable for knowingly destroying evidence in the case.
Manufactured Villain, Real-World Harm
The brief further explains how the Murdochs orchestrated a calculated campaign of lies, and how Fox embraced a xenophobic effort to portray Smartmatic as a foreign villain — using labels such as “Venezuelan,” “Chinese,” and “Cuban” — while omitting facts that contradicted this narrative. The result was death threats against employees and their families, lost contracts, and a global erosion of trust in election technology.
“Before Fox’s campaign, Smartmatic had a perfect record: 6 billion votes, zero security breaches,” Connolly noted. “They were trusted worldwide — from the largest U.S. County to elections praised by international election observers. Fox destroyed that trust in a month.”
The Stakes
Fox not only caused Smartmatic significant reputational and financial farm, it also damaged public confidence in democratic elections. The broader casualties of these lies include American democratic institutions.
“The evidence shows this was a top-down strategy, not rogue behavior,” said Connolly. “Fox can’t hide behind legal technicalities or recycled defenses. It told lies. It knew they were lies. Now it must face the consequences.”
Contacts
Media:
Mrs. Samira Saba, +1-561-862-0747
Integrated Communications Director
Communications@smartmatic.com
