Newsmax reaches settlement with Smartmatic regarding claims about 2020 election

On the brink of trial, the cable news channel Newsmax on Thursday reached a settlement with voting machine company Smartmatic, bringing an end to a defamation lawsuit that accused the network of spreading multiple false claims surrounding the 2020 election.

Smartmatic had accused Newsmax of publishing dozens of false reports claiming that Smartmatic helped rig the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden. Newsmax had argued, in part, that they were reporting on newsworthy claims of fraud.

In a separate case last year, Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787 million settlement with Fox News in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit that involved similar claims related to the election.