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Murdoch’s Smartmatic Secrets

Fox News and Smartmatic both asked a judge on Wednesday to rule in their favor in the $2.7 billion defamation case—but what’s missing from the recent filings could prove far more damaging for Rupert Murdoch.

Author

Oliver Darcy
April 30, 2025

Rupert Murdoch. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Late in the afternoon on Wednesday, motions for summary judgment hit the docket in the blockbuster Smartmatic v. Fox News case. The voting technology company asked the judge overseeing the matter to rule in its favor ahead of a looming high-stakes trial. The right-wing channel, predictably, asked the judge to do the same.

The arguments in the two filings weren’t especially surprising. Smartmatic alleged that Fox News' coverage was defamatory and claimed that “billions in value have forever been lost.” Fox News, in turn, portrayed the lawsuit as a desperate cash grab—a ploy by Smartmatic to secure a massive payday. You’ve heard it all before.

Indeed, the most telling aspect of the summary judgment motions wasn’t what appeared in the filings—it was what didn’t. Most notably, Smartmatic…

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Matt Drudge. (Photo by Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

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