Michael Lofton just made international news! For years, he admired Catholic World Report, an online publication of Ignatius Press. He even offered them his services, and finally made it to their platform…but not in the way he expected. On July 22, 2023, Catholic World Report, which boats of its “unwavering commitment to the truth in light of the Gospel.” republishes Dr. Edward Feser’s false accusation that Michael engaged in libel against Feser. CWR did not remove this false accusation from the original article and republished it, further perpetuating the slander – despite the editor (Carl E. Olson) having the ability to contact Michael to fact check Feser before running the hit piece. Michael Lofton calls it for what it is – a tactic to bully a much smaller platform.
UPDATE: Sadly, Carl E. Olson, the editor of Catholic World Report, a company of Ignatius Press, reveals why he decided to run Dr. Ed Feser’s hit piece against me, which included the false accusation that I engaged in “libel” against Feser.
A commenter on Catholic World Report pushed back on the slanderous claim that I defamed Feser by saying: “This is really sad. Dr Feser has had several instances of misrepresented people online on Twitter. His Twitter is not something you want representing your high quality news source. I expect better of Catholic World Report. Please review Michael Lofton’s side before allowing Twitter drama to be posted to your reputable news source.This is comparable to a piece in TMZ at this point.”
Olson responds: “Those are some strong accusations, Halley. I’ve been following and reading Dr. Feser’s work for many years, and I have yet to see an instance in which he misrepresents people. On the contrary, he consistently quotes them at length and provides necessary context. The “I expect better of CWR” approach doesn’t fly in the face of the evidence. Also, this is not “Twitter drama”. Dr. Feser penned a reasonable and measured piece about papal authority and related topics, and Mr. Lofton has now created at least three lengthy videos about it. Yes, there have been Twitter comments, but anyone who knows some basic theology and logic can see that Dr. Feser’s response here is factual, detailed, and careful to a fault. “This is comparable to a piece in TMZ at this point.” Not from Dr. Feser’s end.”
Translation: Olson didn’t bother to fact check Feser, or ask me for my side of the story, but trusted that what Feser said was accurate because Olson believes Feser is beyond the ability to misrepresent someone.
Also, note that Olson says that the commenter’s post was a “strong accusation” but he doesn’t seem to realize that his publishing of a defamation accusation is an incredibly “strong accusation” as well – and yet, it is one he didn’t bother to fact check. So, here is a question that comes to mind: If they didn’t bother to verify the claim that I defamed Feser before running this hit piece, I now wonder who else they have slandered or misrepresented without checking the facts first.
