WILMINGTON, Delaware — Newsmax Media said on Thursday it had reached a confidential settlement of allegations that the conservative outlet damaged Smartmatic by broadcasting false claims that the voting machine company helped steal the 2020 U.S. presidential election from Donald Trump.
The agreement came on the eve of a four-week jury trial, with opening arguments scheduled to begin in Wilmington, Delaware on Sept. 30. Smartmatic sued Newsmax in 2021, alleging it broadcast damaging misinformation falsely claiming the company switched votes in the 2020 election, that its machines were hacked and that it was funded by corrupt dictators.
Smartmatic alleged that Newsmax benefited from the false reporting. Trump amplified Newsmax’s reporting on social media and the broadcaster’s audience jumped 10-fold after the election, vaulting it over cable news rivals such as CNBC and Fox Business, according to Nielsen Ratings. Smartmatic’s machines were only used in Los Angeles County in the 2020 election and it has said there has never been a security breach with its equipment, which has recorded billions of votes, largely in non-U.
S. elections. The news outlet, which like Smartmatic’s U.
S. affiliate is based in Boca Raton, Florida, has said it had a First Amendment right to report claims by Trump and his supporters, which were often made in court filings challenging the election. The company also clarified its reporting about Smartmatic in December 2020 and invited Smartmatic rep.