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Lou Dobbs, $2B, and Sephora
Smartmatic, an international election technology company, recently filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox news and three of its anchors: Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro. Smartmatic is suing over false reports that it played a role in stealing the 2020 election.
False claims have been made that the company’s machines could be hacked to secretly change the votes across the country. However, Smartmatic was only used in Los Angeles County and not nationwide. A win will send a loud message to other media companies that if they promote false, damaging right-wing conspiracy theories that incite violence, there will financial accountability.
The Fox anchors named in the lawsuit promoted this lie numerous times during their broadcasts which helped to whip up Trump’s supporters who eventually then stormed the Capitol.
Businesses, such as Fox, will act responsibly when they fear financial pain. If Smartmatic wins their case, we will begin to take an important step to turn back the right-wing tide of lies that threaten the safety and security of our country. Money can be among the best, most powerful weapons against hate.