April 10, 2025 — Wilmington, Delaware — In a pivotal decision that strikes at the heart of media accountability and post-election misinformation, a Delaware judge has ruled that Newsmax aired false and defamatory statements about Dominion Voting Systems following the 2020 presidential election. The ruling allows Dominion to proceed with its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, which is now set to go to trial on April 28.
Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis, who previously presided over Dominion’s landmark case against Fox News, found that Dominion presented clear and convincing evidence that Newsmax knowingly broadcast misleading and harmful claims. These allegations — widely debunked — accused Dominion of conspiring to rig the election in favor of Joe Biden. The judge concluded that the statements aired by Newsmax were not only inaccurate but likely to cause serious reputational harm.
At the center of the controversy are Newsmax segments that promoted conspiracy theories falsely linking Dominion to foreign interference and even associating the company with deceased Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez. These baseless stories, Dominion argues, not only tarnished its name but triggered a cascade of lost business, contract terminations, and a widespread erosion of trust in its technology and integrity.
Judge Davis pointed to Newsmax’s own December 2020 “clarification,” in which the network acknowledged there was no evidence of Dominion’s involvement in election fraud. That public admission, the court ruled, strongly suggests the network knew its earlier reporting was false — meeting the high legal threshold of “actual malice.” This term, crucial in defamation law, implies that Newsmax either knew it was spreading lies or acted with reckless disregard for whether the information was true.
The timing of this ruling adds a new layer of complexity for Newsmax. The network recently completed a splashy initial public offering, with shares surging and founder Chris Ruddy reportedly entering billionaire status. But the legal and financial challenges looming over the network could rapidly reverse that trajectory. In addition to the Dominion case, Newsmax is also facing a $40 million settlement deadline with Smartmatic USA, another voting technology company pursuing similar defamation claims.
In court, Dominion is expected to argue that the harm inflicted wasn’t just limited to its image — it struck at the company’s core operations. Attorneys will outline how the false narratives pushed by Newsmax led to a measurable decline in revenue and customer retention. Dominion has described the impact as a “slow death,” with long-term consequences still unfolding years after the 2020 election.
Newsmax continues to defend itself, denying any wrongdoing and casting the lawsuit as a threat to the First Amendment. But the judge’s ruling has already dealt a blow to that defense, confirming that the statements at issue were both untrue and damaging. The network also attempted, in a late-stage legal maneuver, to argue that Dominion had sued the wrong corporate entity — a claim the court firmly rejected.
As the trial date approaches, this case is shaping up to be a defining moment in the ongoing reckoning over misinformation in American media. The outcome could set a powerful precedent regarding the boundaries of journalistic responsibility, especially when reporting on controversial and politically charged topics. For Dominion, it’s a step toward vindication. For Newsmax, it’s a legal battle that could reshape the future of its brand — and possibly, the broader landscape of televised political commentary.
