Electronic technology company Smartmatic filed a massive lawsuit Thursday against Fox News, saying the network and some of its biggest on-air personalities made it into a villain and perpetuated false claims about the recent election.
The suit names Fox stars Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, as well as Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
The defamation and disparagement lawsuit seeks more than $2.7 billion, citing damage from what Smartmatic calls a "disinformation campaign" that was waged by people who were unhappy with President Biden's victory – but who also hoped to profit from former President Donald Trump's persistent and erroneous claims that the election was fraudulent.
"They knew the election was not stolen," the company says it in a court filing. "They knew the election was not rigged or fixed. They knew these truths just as they knew the Earth is round and two plus two equals four."
When reached for comment, a FOX News Media spokesperson said, "FOX News Media is committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion. We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend this meritless lawsuit in court."
The company is seeking unspecified punitive damages, in addition to $2.7 billion in "actual, consequential and special damages."
Smartmatic also wants a federal court to order the defendants to fully retract their false statements about the company.
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"Without any true villain" in Trump's election loss, the company says in its complaint, "Defendants invented one." It adds that during the 2020 election, Smartmatic's election technology and software was used only in one place in the U.S.: Los Angeles County.
But, the e-voting company says in court documents, Fox News and the other defendants created a different narrative:
"In their story, Smartmatic was a Venezuelan company under the control of corrupt dictators from socialist countries. In their story, Smartmatic's election technology and software were used in many of the states with close outcomes. And, in their story, Smartmatic was responsible for stealing the 2020 election by switching and altering votes to rig the election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."
Millions of people believed the negative coverage of Smartmatic, resulting in a cascade of fallout, the company says. According to the court filing, employees received hate mail and death threats, and its clients began to be nervous about doing business with the tech firm. Its reputation for providing secure, transparent election technology "was irreparably harmed," Smartmatic says.
NPR's David Folkenflik contributed to this report.
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