Mar 14, 2025 - Business

Newsmax agreed to pay Smartmatic $40M to settle defamation suit

Rebecca Falconer

ewsmax signage during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Thursday, July 18, 2024. — Newsmax signage during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last July. Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Newsmax agreed to pay Smartmatic $40 million in the conservative cable network's settlement of the defamation lawsuit over the airing of 2020 election falsehoods, per a regulatory filing.

The big picture: The companies reached a settlement last September that includes the cash settlement "payable over time and the issuance of a five year cash exercise warrant to purchase 2,000 shares of Series B preferred stock at an exercise price of $5,000 per share," per the filing.

Newsmax had "made payments under the settlement agreement totaling $20 million" to the voting technology firm as of March 7, according to the filing.

Context: Smartmatic accused Newsmax of falsely reporting a baseless conspiracy theory that its voting technology "rigged" the 2020 presidential election for former President Biden over President Trump in key swing states.

Smartmatic filed a similar suit against One America News Network, which was settled last April.

What they're saying: A representative for Smartmatic told Reuters the firm couldn't comment on the deal, but it looked forward to its upcoming $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit trial against Fox News, which has said it's defending the case on First Amendment grounds.

Representatives for Newsmax and Smartmatic did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

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Newsmax agreed to pay Smartmatic $40M to settle defamation suit

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