Sun Amaya
(CNN) – Dominion Voting Systems, a technology company that was accused by former President Donald Trump and his allies of generating disinformation, filed lawsuits Tuesday against two right-wing television channels. The company alleges that those channels helped spread unfounded conspiracy theories about its role in the 2020 election.
The lawsuits, which are the latest in a series of legal actions by the company, name Newsmax and One America News (OAN) as defendants.
The lawsuit against OAN also mentions two of the network’s far-right personalities, Chanel Rion and Christina Bobb, as well as the network’s owners, Robert and Charles Herring.
Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a statement that the networks “ignored the truth when they spread lies in November” and that they “continue to do so today.”
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In the immediate aftermath of the 2020 election, then-President Trump falsely claimed that the election had been rigged against him.
His media allies promoted outlandish conspiracy theories about Dominion to back up Trump’s false claims.
What does the Dominion lawsuit say?
In its lawsuit against Newsmax, Dominion said the channel “created a whole brand out of smearing” the company. And in his lawsuit against OAN, Dominion said that for the right-wing channel, “the facts didn’t matter.”
“What mattered was feeding the audience with the alternate reality that OAN had helped create and its audience now waited for. Even if he was spreading false information, ”Dominion said in his 213 complaint in District Court for the District of Columbia.
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“And the race to the bottom started in earnest, dragging Dominion with her.”
Specifically in regards to OAN, Dominion pointed to a movie by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell promoting electoral conspiracy theories about the voting technology company.
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Dominion requested at least $ 1.6 billion in each of its lawsuits against OAN and Newsmax.
Poulos said that the “barrage of lies” being promoted about the company has caused “serious damage to our company, customers and employees.”
Newsmax’s response to Dominion’s lawsuit
In a statement, Newsmax said it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit filed against him. But that “in its coverage of the 2020 presidential elections, Newsmax simply reported on the allegations made by well-known public figures, including the president, his advisers and members of Congress.”
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“Dominion’s action today is a clear attempt to stifle such reports and undermine a free press,” Newsmax added.
Charles Herring, OAN president, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Other lawsuits filed
Dominion also filed a similar defamation lawsuit Tuesday against Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock, who became a right-wing political figure during the Trump years.
The lawsuit alleges that he worked with former Trump campaign attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and others to create allegations of voter fraud. Byrne did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on this allegation.
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Previously, Dominion filed a $ 1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News in March, alleging that the right-wing channel “took a little flame” of misinformation and “turned it into a wildfire.” That case, in which Fox has vigorously defended himself and filed a motion to dismiss, is ongoing.
Dominion has also filed lawsuits against Lindell, Giuliani and Powell. Those cases are still ongoing and Lindell, Giuliani and Powell have also defended themselves.
Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report
The-CNN-Wire
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