Shows on Newsmax, Fox Business and Fox News have begun airing corrections and clarifications to baseless allegations of election fraud involving Smartmatic and Dominion following legal threats by the two voting machine companies.<\/p>\n
Why it matters: <\/strong>Defamation lawsuits could prove to be very costly, especially for fledgling networks like Newsmax and OAN that are trying to lure investors to be able to take on Fox News. Unsubstantiated claims about election-rigging have been heavily promoted by President Trump and his allies, including on these networks.<\/p>\n Details: <\/strong>Smartmatic has demanded retractions from all three networks, with the company writing in a legal notice last week that "these organizations could have easily discovered the falsity of the statements and implications made about Smartmatic by investigating their statements before publishing them to millions of viewers and readers."<\/p>\n Between the lines:<\/strong> J. Erik Connolly is one of the lawyers involved in the Smartmatic legal threat, per the New York Times. Connolly famously won a defamation suit against ABC News in 2017 after the network referring to a beef producer's "lean finely textured beef" as "pink slime." The payout was at least $177 million. <\/p>\n The big picture: <\/strong>Networks like Fox and Newsmax rarely issue corrections or retractions unless hit with lawsuits or legal threats. <\/p>\n\n