Smartmatic Election Defamation Case: Rupert Murdoch Set to Be Deposed in Fox News Lawsuit
Rupert Murdoch to be questioned in Smartmatic's $27B election defamation lawsuit against Fox News, highlighting his upcoming deposition in the case
Rupert Murdoch is scheduled to be deposed on Tuesday in the $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Smartmatic, a voting technology company, against Fox News, according to a source familiar with the case. The deposition of the conservative media tycoon, originally reported by Reuters, is expected to occur in Los Angeles. Murdoch, who founded Fox News and served as the executive chairman of Fox Corporation, stepped down earlier this month, with his 92-year-old media empire handing the reigns to his son Lachlan.
Fox Corporation's spokesperson declined to comment, reiterating the company's stance to actively defend against the lawsuit. Smartmatic's spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Smartmatic initiated the lawsuit against Fox Corporation in 2021, following unfounded conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
The lawsuit, lodged in a New York State court, alleged that Fox News and certain right-wing channel hosts purposefully spread falsehoods about Smartmatic to deceive the public into believing that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulently taken from former President Donald Trump.
According to the lawsuit, "They required a scapegoat. They needed someone to fault. They needed a target for others to despise. A narrative of righteousness versus wickedness, one that could fuel a furious crowd, can only be effective if the narrator presents the audience with a figure who embodies malevolence."
The lawsuit accused the defendants of creating a false villain, stating that they chose to make Smartmatic the villain in their story. This deposition is the second time Murdoch has been questioned this year regarding Fox News' dissemination of election falsehoods.
In April, Fox Corporation reached a historic $787 million settlement in a similar election lies case filed by another voting technology company, Dominion Voting Systems.
