New York, New York - Right-wing news outlet Newsmax Media privately paid millions of dollars to settle a defamation lawsuit concerning lies the network told about the 2020 presidential elections.

A recent investor document revealed that the companies privately settled the suit last September, with Newsmax agreeing to pay $40 million, along with "the issuance of a five-year cash exercise warrant to purchase 2,000 shares of Series B preferred stock at an exercise price of $5,000 per share."

Smartmatic, a voting technology company, filed the defamation lawsuit against the network back in 2021, accusing Newsmax of intentionally profiting from spreading lies that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, who lost to Joe Biden by more than seven million votes.

After Trump repeatedly shared Newsmax's false reporting, the outlet's viewership increased significantly.

The suit is just one of many filed by voting technology companies against right-wing outlets that spread Trump's election denialism.

Last year, One America News reached an undisclosed settlement with Smartmatic in a similar case, and in 2023, Fox News was forced to pay Dominion Voting Systems a massive $787.5 million in damages – the highest amount ever awarded in a defamation lawsuit in US history.

In a statement to Reuters, a Smartmatic representative said they could not discuss the Newsmax deal, but the company is "looking forward to taking Fox News to trial over similar claims."