Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems for airing reports that falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged to favour Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.

Two years after Fox News shelled out $787 million in a settlement over false reports suggesting Donald Trump lost the 2020 polls because voting machines had been tampered with, Newsmax was facing the same ordeal.

Dominion Voting System sued Newsmax for disseminating false information that the company manipulated the polls to rob Mr Trump of a second presidential term.

Judge Eric M Davies of Delaware Superior Court in April determined that Newsmax broadcast defamatory content that “would likely cause reasonable viewers to think significantly less favourably about Dominion than if the viewers knew the truth.”

The case was scheduled to go to trial in October, where it would be further determined whether or not Newsmax acted with “actual malice” and could be subsequently fined for damages.

The media organisation, in a bid to avoid trial, instead opted for a settlement to pay tens of millions of dollars to the voting machine-makers. Newsmax already paid $27 million and has pledged to pay $40 million over a period of two years.

“We are pleased to have settled this matter,” a Dominion spokesperson said in a brief statement on Monday without elaborating.

The news organisation insisted that it was innocent of defamation, claiming reports followed professional journalistic standards.

“Newsmax believed it was critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes that arose in 2020,” the news company said in a statement. “We stand by our coverage as fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism.”