Right-wing media is learning there are consequences to spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Earlier this month, Smartmatic, a voting machine company, sued Fox News and some of its on-air talent for $2.7 billion.
Dominion voting systems sued Donald Trump’s lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani for $1.3 billion in damages for making false claims about the company.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Trump’s lawyers spread the conspiracy that the voting machine companies used technology developed by deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to switch votes for Trump over to Biden. These claims were picked up by right-wing news organizations and personalities.
However, there is zero truth to the claims.
Now, Dominion is suing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for more than $1.3 billion in damages for spreading the rigged-voting machine conspiracy. Dominion sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lindell back in January, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to make false claims about the company.
According to Lindell, Dominion committed the “biggest crime ever committed in election history against our country and the world.”
Lindell went so far as to produce a propaganda piece called “Absolute Proof” that ran on One America News Network (OAN). The news organization ran a comically-long disclaimer before the presentation to avoid being sued.
In the lawsuit, Dominion claims Lindell profited from promoting a conspiracy theory about its business.
“After hitting the jackpot with Donald Trump’s endorsement for MyPillow and after a million-dollar bet on Fox News ads had paid out handsome returns, Michael Lindell exploited another chance to boost sales: marketing MyPillow to people who would tune in and attend rallies to hear Lindell tell the ‘Big Lie’ that Dominion had stolen the 2020 election,” the lawsuit states.
“MyPillow’s defamatory marketing campaign—with promo codes like ‘FightforTrump,’ ’45,’ ‘Proof,’ and ‘QAnon’—has increased MyPillow sales by 30-40% and continues duping people into redirecting their election-lie outrage into pillow purchases,” the suit continues.
The lawsuit also points out that Lindell has a long history of making false claims to help his bottom line. He was sued for making misleading claims that its pillows could help people suffering from fibromyalgia, insomnia, migraines, headaches, sleep apnea, snoring, TMJ, and restless leg syndrome
Lindell “needs to be held accountable for defaming Dominion and undermining the integrity of our electoral system all the while profiting from it,” the suit says.
Lindell was permanently banned from Twitter earlier this month for promoting election misinformation.
The businessman gave an unhinged appearance on Newsmax after the ban where he continued to promote the conspiracy. The hosts pushed back because Smartmatic threatened to sue the network in December for promoting false claims.
Dominion’s decision to sue those who defamed its brand by promoting the “Big Lie,” as they call it, is a positive step forward. Over the past few years, there have been far too many right-wing politicians and media personalities who’ve become way too comfortable with telling consequence-free lies.
Hopefully, this legal action will dissuade people from promoting conspiracies for fear of being held accountable.
