Pro-Trump Network OANN Potential Legal Fallout Baseless Election Claims Against Smartmatic

[Social Media]

 

In a recent development with far-reaching implications, Smartmatic, a voting technology company, is pursuing legal action against One America News Network (OANN), a pro-Trump cable channel known for its dissemination of election misinformation. This lawsuit opens a new chapter in the ongoing saga of post-election conspiracy theories and their real-world consequences.

 

The Allegations:

Smartmatic alleges that OANN, through its on-air personalities and programming, spread demonstrably false claims about the company's involvement in rigged elections, specifically targeting the 2020 US presidential election. These claims, devoid of any factual basis, aimed to undermine public trust in the electoral process and damage Smartmatic's reputation.

 

Potential Impact:

If successful, Smartmatic's lawsuit could set a significant precedent. It could hold media outlets accountable for spreading demonstrably false information, especially when such information has detrimental consequences for businesses or individuals. This could have a chilling effect on the spread of misinformation, particularly within partisan media spheres.

 

Beyond Smartmatic:

The case holds wider implications beyond the immediate parties involved. It delves into the complex issue of balancing free speech with accountability in the media landscape. While robust free speech is crucial for a healthy democracy, the potential for its misuse to sow discord and undermine trust in institutions cannot be ignored.

 

Uncharted Territory:

Navigating this legal battle will be challenging. Defamation lawsuits involving media outlets raise complex legal questions surrounding First Amendment protections. The outcome of this case could significantly impact the boundaries of permissible commentary and reporting, particularly in the realm of highly charged political discourse.

 

The Road Ahead:

 

As the lawsuit progresses, several key questions remain unanswered:

 

• Will Smartmatic's claims of demonstrably false information hold up in court?
• How will the courts balance free speech concerns with potential harm caused by misinformation?
• Will this case set a broader precedent for holding media outlets accountable for their reporting?

 

This lawsuit undoubtedly has the potential to reshape the media landscape and the ongoing battle against misinformation. As the case unfolds, it's crucial to follow developments closely and critically analyze the implications for free speech, accountability, and the future of our democratic discourse.

 

30.01.24

Source

 

[Tug]

He he he ……ah the plot thickens I hope smartmatic drags them over the coals for deluding all of those people so desperately seeking confirmation biased views to support their distorted views.

[impulse]

I wonder if it's like the baseless, demonstrably false information about the Dominion machines that was just proven true in a Georgia courtroom.

 

https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/01/25/state-doesnt-understand-the-technology-plaintiffs-rest-their-case-in-trial-over-georgias-voting-machines/

 

Edited January 30 by impulse

[Walker88]

36 minutes ago, impulse said:

I wonder if it's like the baseless, demonstrably false information about the Dominion machines that was just proven true in a Georgia courtroom.

 

https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/01/25/state-doesnt-understand-the-technology-plaintiffs-rest-their-case-in-trial-over-georgias-voting-machines/

 

trump lost. Bigly.

 

Snowflakes have to get over it. It's 2024. Enough with the maga tears. Save some for when trump is jailed.

 

Good to see that a crass comedy channel like OANN will be going out of business.  Maybe Fox could handle $787 million, might be able to do the $2.7 billion Smartmatic, but OANN isn't so cash rich.

[Chomper Higgot]

38 minutes ago, impulse said:

I wonder if it's like the baseless, demonstrably false information about the Dominion machines that was just proven true in a Georgia courtroom.

 

https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/01/25/state-doesnt-understand-the-technology-plaintiffs-rest-their-case-in-trial-over-georgias-voting-machines/

 

Verdict in yet?

[impulse]

53 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Verdict in yet?

 

Verdict?  The guy showed in real time how he could change votes using a Bic pen and a $5 USB chip.  

 

Even the most activist judge couldn't spin that one.  And it's in the official court records. 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

18 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Verdict?  The guy showed in real time how he could change votes using a Bic pen and a $5 USB chip.  

 

Even the most activist judge couldn't spin that one.  And it's in the official court records. 

 

Lots of things get entered into Court records.

 

But it’s the verdict that counts.

[impulse]

17 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Lots of things get entered into Court records.

 

But it’s the verdict that counts.

 

You mean like the verdict after Trump's 2nd impeachment?  The one that found that he didn't foment violence and insurrection?

 

'Cause, you can't have it both ways...  Though the Dems would like that.

 

[bendejo]

They were the middle-ground between Fox and RT.  Neither of them are going anywhere: Fox will become a guy at a desk with a microphone if it has to, but will survive in some form.  Oh wait . . .

 

[Tug]

16 minutes ago, bendejo said:

They were the middle-ground between Fox and RT.  Neither of them are going anywhere: Fox will become a guy at a desk with a microphone if it has to, but will survive in some form.  Oh wait . . .

 

Yea what ever happened to that Tucker Carlson anyway?behind some desk with a mic?is anybody listening anymore?

[sirineou]

7 minutes ago, Tug said:

Yea what ever happened to that Tucker Carlson anyway?behind some desk with a mic?is anybody listening anymore?

I think you are being unfair !!

I bet there are still some , sitting in their maga underwear in their mom's converted basement who are listening.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, impulse said:

I wonder if it's like the baseless, demonstrably false information about the Dominion machines that was just proven true in a Georgia courtroom.

 

https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/01/25/state-doesnt-understand-the-technology-plaintiffs-rest-their-case-in-trial-over-georgias-voting-machines/

 

 

For starters, nothing in the above cited case has proved there was any actual voter machine tampering that occurred in Georgia in the 2020 presidential election -- contrary to Trump and his right wing media's repeated Big Lie claims, for which they have begun paying dearly.

 

And then, if you read the entire article you linked above, you'd see that a significant reason for the POTENTIAL vulnerabilities to the Georgia election system is because of the illegal physical incursion and data copying/stealing that occurred there at a county elections office by Trump's local allies (now the subject of criminal charges), as the article recounts:

 

The Trump angle

"As the voting machine case has unfolded, one of the plaintiffs, the Coalition for Good Governance, uncovered efforts by Trump allies in early 2021–right after the hotly contested presidential election–to download the Georgia voting system’s software and other data from rural Coffee County’s elections office. The software and other information remains in the hands of an unknown number of persons, which elevates the risk of hacks to Georgia’s system, plaintiffs’ experts testified this week. 

...

That incursion was likely “the largest elections systems breach in U.S. history,” said plaintiffs’ witness Kevin Skoglund, the president of Citizens for Better Elections, in court this week. Skoglund, who serves on a cybersecurity advisory group to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, testified that Georgia’s Dominion elections software was now “spread out around the country” in the hands of “close to a dozen people.” 

 

https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/01/25/state-doesnt-understand-the-technology-plaintiffs-rest-their-case-in-trial-over-georgias-voting-machines/

 

As for the paying dearly part:

 

Fox, Dominion reach $787M settlement over election claims

April 19, 2023

 

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Fox News agreed Tuesday to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to avert a trial in the voting machine company’s lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 presidential election.

...

Outside of the $787.5 million promised to Colorado-based Dominion, it was unclear what other consequences Fox would face. Fox acknowledged in a statement “the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false,” but no apology was offered.

...

Coupled with other lawsuits in the pipeline, the agreement shows there is a real financial risk for conservative media that traffic in conspiracy theories.

 

https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-trump-2020-0ac71f75acfacc52ea80b3e747fb0afe

 

 

Edited January 30 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Chomper Higgot]

4 hours ago, impulse said:

 

You mean like the verdict after Trump's 2nd impeachment?  The one that found that he didn't foment violence and insurrection?

 

'Cause, you can't have it both ways...  Though the Dems would like that.

 

so you confuse Congress for a Court of law.

[candide]

6 hours ago, impulse said:

I wonder if it's like the baseless, demonstrably false information about the Dominion machines that was just proven true in a Georgia courtroom.

 

https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/01/25/state-doesnt-understand-the-technology-plaintiffs-rest-their-case-in-trial-over-georgias-voting-machines/

 

The same lame claim you already posted in another thread will get the same reply:

- you are knowingly distorting the reason why Fox News was indicted: it was indicted for claiming the 2020 elections have been rigged, while knowing they were lying about it. Not for discussing if maybe it could be possible to hàck a system

- the expert has been able to do that because he used a malicious code (not just a pen and a card, they are useless without the code). And he was able to write a malicious code because he was given access to the system for months. 

- the lawsuit is motivated by the breach by Kraken Powell and her team, who stole the software and put it on a server. They got caught, but many people could have had access to it. This is quite different from November 2020, before the breach. Without this breach, there would be no lawsuit.

[impulse]

2 hours ago, candide said:

The same lame claim you already posted in another thread will get the same reply:

- you are knowingly distorting the reason why Fox News was indicted: it was indicted for claiming the 2020 elections have been rigged, while knowing they were lying about it. Not for discussing if maybe it could be possible to hàck a system

- the expert has been able to do that because he used a malicious code (not just a pen and a card, they are useless without the code). And he was able to write a malicious code because he was given access to the system for months. 

- the lawsuit is motivated by the breach by Kraken Powell and her team, who stole the software and put it on a server. They got caught, but many people could have had access to it. This is quite different from November 2020, before the breach. Without this breach, there would be no lawsuit.

 

When was Fox indicted?  I must have missed that.

 

[candide]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

When was Fox indicted?  I must have missed that.

 

Ooops! OK, not indicted, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion $787.5 million and acknowledged the court's earlier ruling that Fox had broadcast false statements about Dominion. 

[LosLobo]

8 hours ago, Tug said:

Yea what ever happened to that Tucker Carlson anyway?behind some desk with a mic?is anybody listening anymore?

Tucker now has his own News website called The Daily Caller.

I saw it recently on AN a couple of days ago.

One of regulars posted the link to support some conspiracy theory.

I had to have a chuckle questioning myself if it would comply with the 'approved credible source' rule.
 

[johng]

11 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

 if it would comply with the 'approved credible source'

Do you have a definitive list of

"approved credible sources" ?

Who maintains the list,which criteria determine credibility ?

 

 

[LosLobo]

26 minutes ago, johng said:

Do you have a definitive list of

"approved credible sources" ?

Who maintains the list,which criteria determine credibility ?

No, I don't know.
 

But I suggest that Tucker Carlson is not a 'credible source'.
 

Even his own legal defence says so.
 

Fox's Lawyers: You Literally Can't Believe The Facts Tucker Carlson Tells You.

 

The Legal Defense For Fox's Tucker Carlson: He Can't Be Literally Believed : NPR

 

Edited January 30 by LosLobo

[ozimoron]

If free speech was allowed to include vicarious lies then why do we need defamation laws? I guess there's more than a few of the usual suspects here who think we shouldn't.

[Danderman123]

10 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Verdict?  The guy showed in real time how he could change votes using a Bic pen and a $5 USB chip.  

 

Even the most activist judge couldn't spin that one.  And it's in the official court records. 

 

This only makes sense if you don't understand how elections are conducted. A faulty voting machine is easily discovered by precinct workers.

[Walker88]

13 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Verdict?  The guy showed in real time how he could change votes using a Bic pen and a $5 USB chip.  

 

Even the most activist judge couldn't spin that one.  And it's in the official court records. 

 

Well, you convinced me. No wonder trump got so many votes, though far from enough to win.

 

I didn't think there were 73 million whackjobs in the US, so now I know how trump's goobers cheated.  Thanks.

[bendejo]

8 hours ago, ozimoron said:

If free speech was allowed to include vicarious lies then why do we need defamation laws? I guess there's more than a few of the usual suspects here who think we shouldn't.

Back when he was in the WH he wanted new laws that would allow him to shut down/sue/etc anyone who said things he didn't like.  It was that babblegats Kellyanne who talked him out of it, pointing out that the same laws could be used against himself.

 

8 hours ago, LosLobo said:

Tucker now has his own News website called The Daily Caller.

Actually not new.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Caller

He was on CNN before that.  If in need of entertainment try to dig up the time he had Jon Stewart on his show.

 

[heybruce]

On 1/29/2024 at 7:18 PM, impulse said:

I wonder if it's like the baseless, demonstrably false information about the Dominion machines that was just proven true in a Georgia courtroom.

 

https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/01/25/state-doesnt-understand-the-technology-plaintiffs-rest-their-case-in-trial-over-georgias-voting-machines/

 

Exactly what information about the Dominion machines was proven false in court?  Cite the specific section of your link that shows whatever it is you are implying.

[heybruce]

On 1/29/2024 at 8:56 PM, impulse said:

 

Verdict?  The guy showed in real time how he could change votes using a Bic pen and a $5 USB chip.  

 

Even the most activist judge couldn't spin that one.  And it's in the official court records. 

 

So?  Did he provide evidence that such tampering occurred?  Did he provide evidence that at any time between certification of the machines and the transmission of the votes that anyone had access to do such tampering?

[Danderman123]

On 1/29/2024 at 9:18 PM, impulse said:

I wonder if it's like the baseless, demonstrably false information about the Dominion machines that was just proven true in a Georgia courtroom.

 

https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/01/25/state-doesnt-understand-the-technology-plaintiffs-rest-their-case-in-trial-over-georgias-voting-machines/

 

If you believe that voting machines are being tampered with to change votes, it just means you don't understand how elections are run.

 

Not that you want that information, you seem happy just to recite talking points.

 

But, in real life, there are safeguards against voting machine failure.

[ozimoron]

11 hours ago, heybruce said:

Exactly what information about the Dominion machines was proven false in court?  Cite the specific section of your link that shows whatever it is you are implying.

 

Yeah, nothing. A right wing think tank is trying to convince the Georgia judge to throw out $100 million of machines because they think the machines are vulnerable. The judge previous ruled against earlier machines. The state is arguing that the new machines are far more secure and have a paper audit trail. Absolutely nothing has been proved to indicate that the machines are vulnerable to hacking.

[impulse]

On 1/30/2024 at 7:57 PM, LosLobo said:

Tucker now has his own News website called The Daily Caller.

I saw it recently on AN a couple of days ago.

One of regulars posted the link to support some conspiracy theory.

I had to have a chuckle questioning myself if it would comply with the 'approved credible source' rule.
 

 

Tucker Carlson helped found the Daily Caller in 2010.  Other than occasional mentions of him and some of his interviews, in 6 or 7 years of tuning into the DNCF (one of the 45 news websites in my bookmarks), I've never seen anything by Carlson on DC.

 

If you want to catch Carlson today, he's on X and he has his own website.  Though I've never been a Tucker fan, some of the guys he has on for interviews are well worth a listen (if you can get past Tucker's occasional cackling). Sadly, long format.  But that means no edited soundbites.

 

https://tuckercarlson.com/the-tucker-carlson-encounter/

 

But if you're a lefty, you probably want to stay away.  

 

[impulse]

15 hours ago, ozimoron said:

 

Yeah, nothing. A right wing think tank is trying to convince the Georgia judge to throw out $100 million of machines because they think the machines are vulnerable. The judge previous ruled against earlier machines. The state is arguing that the new machines are far more secure and have a paper audit trail. Absolutely nothing has been proved to indicate that the machines are vulnerable to hacking.

 

Even last year, the vulnerabilities were well known.  Results of a study done in 2021 by the same guy (Haldeman) that hacked the machines again during the current trial.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/14/politics/dominion-voting-georgia-vulnerabilities-2024/index.html

 

Now the judge has to decide what to do and it seems the biggest concern of the "election officials" is that if she acknowledges the vulnerabilities and bans the machines, that'll basically confirm what the election deniers have been saying all along.

 

But most of all, more than a dozen officials stressed their dread that ordering changes just months ahead of the 2024 presidential vote could undermine trust in the election, overwhelming local election officials and emboldening election deniers all in one breath.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/30/federal-judge-voting-machine-ruling-00138681

 

So I suspect that Georgia will continue using what CNN refers to as "vulnerable Dominion software" through the 2024 presidential election.  I hope not, but it looks likely.

 

Edited February 1 by impulse

[heybruce]

8 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Even last year, the vulnerabilities were well known.  Results of a study done in 2021 by the same guy (Haldeman) that hacked the machines again during the current trial.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/14/politics/dominion-voting-georgia-vulnerabilities-2024/index.html

 

Now the judge has to decide what to do and it seems the biggest concern of the "election officials" is that if she acknowledges the vulnerabilities and bans the machines, that'll basically confirm what the election deniers have been saying all along.

 

But most of all, more than a dozen officials stressed their dread that ordering changes just months ahead of the 2024 presidential vote could undermine trust in the election, overwhelming local election officials and emboldening election deniers all in one breath.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/30/federal-judge-voting-machine-ruling-00138681

 

So I suspect that Georgia will continue using what CNN refers to as "vulnerable Dominion software" through the 2024 presidential election.  I hope not, but it looks likely.

 

"...that'll basically confirm what the election deniers have been saying all along."

 

Election deniers have been claiming without proof that the election was stolen.  Nothing in you link supports that claim.

 

Proving that it is possible to rob a bank doesn't prove that a bank was robbed.