LinkedIn billionaire bankrolls voting firm Smartmatic as it fights Fox News in 2020 election defamation case
CNN
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is providing significant financial firepower to Smartmatic as the voting technology company fights Fox News and Newsmax over the right-wing networks’ repeated airing of 2020 election lies.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is providing significant financial firepower to Smartmatic as the voting technology company fights Fox News and Newsmax over the right-wing networks’ repeated airing of 2020 election lies. Hoffman, a billionaire venture capitalist and prominent Democratic donor, framed his multimillion-dollar investment in Smartmatic as a way to strengthen the company’s global operations as it pursues the costly defamation lawsuits. “Smartmatic built a global business by using technology to better engage citizens, regardless of party or ideology, by making voting simple and trustworthy,” Hoffman said in a statement. “After Donald Trump lost in 2020, however, Smartmatic became a target of the defamatory campaign to overturn his defeat.” Hoffman, who said he has known Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica for years, said he is “thrilled” to support Smartmatic and help Mugica recover “what he is owed.” Terms of the investment, first reported by The Washington Post, were not disclosed. A person with knowledge of the matter wouldn’t say exactly how much money Hoffman poured into Smartmatic but told CNN the eight-figure investment surpassed $10 million.