Defamation And The Neutral-Reporting Doctrine: A Look At Fox News's Tactic To Outsmart Smartmatic

On February 4th, the election technology company Smartmatic USA filed a lawsuit alleging that Fox News and others defamed it by broadcasting false statements that Smartmatic was part of a conspiracy to rig the presidential election. Fox responded to the complaint by filing a motion to dismiss, arguing that it is immune from liability based on the “neutral-reporting doctrine.” What is the doctrine, will it end the suit, and is it even available to Fox?