Dominion Lawsuit: Newsmax Responded Differently Than Fox News

This week’s settlement between Dominion Voting Systems and FOX News puts one chapter of post-2020 election litigation to bed, but Dominion (as well as competitor Smartmatic) has other defamation suits pending, including one against Newsmax. 

The news organization itself reports on the pending case and, in a story by Marisa Herman, lays out the argument that there are stark differences between the FOX News case and its own. She cites a February 2, 2021 appearance by Mike Lindell on Newsmax TV during which anchor Bob Sellers vehemently challenges Lindell’s allegations of voter manipulation, to the point of walking off the set in frustration. 

The story also notes Newsmax’s defense as laid out in court filings. 

The company says, “It reported fairly and accurately on the public statements made by President Trump, his attorneys, and surrogates; It had a right to report on statements made by public figures, including the president; Newsmax reported on both television and online claims by multiple officials and experts that the election was not ‘stolen’ or ‘rigged.’; Newsmax reached out to Dominion, and Dominion did not accept offers to appear on the network; Newsmax published online at least a dozen articles sharing Dominion's response to Trump campaign claims. 

According to Talkers.com,  those headlines appeared on Newsmax TV; On Dec. 19, 2020, Newsmax published to its website a statement, ‘Facts About Dominion, Smartmatic You Should Know,’ which read, in part, ‘No evidence has been offered that Dominion or Smartmatic used software or reprogrammed software that manipulated votes in the 2020 election.’; Newsmax shared its statement over the course of months during segments related and unrelated to the 2020 election.” Finally, Newsmax adds, “It should be noted that FOX News has never made a statement, even after its settlement, as strong and specific as Newsmax's statement of Dec. 19, 2021.”