By Helen Coster
(Reuters) – Dominion Voting Systems said on Thursday it had asked Facebook and other social media platforms to preserve posts and data from several conservative-leaning networks including Fox News as it pursues defamation claims that it rigged the 2020 presidential election.
Lawyers for Dominion’s parent company sent letters to Facebook, YouTube, Parler and Twitter stating that the posts and data from Fox, Newsmax, One America News Network (OANN), former President Donald Trump and others are relevant to Dominion’s pending and forthcoming claims.
Last month, Dominion filed defamation lawsuits against Trump’s lawyer Rudolph Giuliani and his former lawyer Sidney Powell. The company has stated that more lawsuits will follow.
It has previously warned the networks and others mentioned in Thursday’s letters that defamation litigation against them is “imminent,” according to Dominion.
A Fox News spokesperson referred Reuters to several segments on the network, including one in which a Dominion spokesperson debunks accusations of voter fraud.
Newsmax declined to comment. OANN did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Earlier on Thursday, electronic voting systems maker Smartmatic sued Fox News and parent company Fox Corp, Giuliani, Powell and others, claiming they falsely accused the company of helping to rig the U.S. presidential election in favor of Joe Biden.
The defamation suit, filed in New York County Supreme Court, seeks more than $2.7 billion in compensatory and punitive damages. Smartmatic also asks for defendants to retract false statements.
A representative for Twitter declined to comment. Representatives for Facebook, YouTube, Parler and Trump could not immediately be reached for comment.
(Reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by Robert Birsel)
