LifeSiteNews
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Type of site | Advocacy and news publication |
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Available in | English |
Founded | 1997 |
Country of origin | Canada |
Founder(s) | Campaign Life Coalition |
Editor | John-Henry Westen |
President | Steve Jalsevac |
URL | lifesitenews |
Current status | Active |
LifeSiteNews (or simply LifeSite) is a Canadian Catholic conservative anti-abortion advocacy website and news publication. LifeSiteNews has published misleading information and conspiracy theories, and in 2021, was banned from some social media platforms for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
History
LifeSiteNews was founded in 1997 by the Canadian political lobbyist organization Campaign Life Coalition with the intent to promote anti-abortion views.[1] At a 2013 March for Life Youth Conference in Ottawa, founder and editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen alleged there was a media conspiracy against the anti-abortion movement, and said that the purpose of LifeSiteNews was to circumvent the mainstream media.[1]
A Catholic priest and former member of the Canadian Parliament, Raymond Gravel, filed a defamation lawsuit in Quebec against the website in 2011. He claimed that the site's description of his self-described pro-choice views as "pro-abortion" was libelous, and sought CA$500,000 in damages.[2] LifeSiteNews had published 41 articles about Gravel as of February 2013.[3] In 2013, the lawsuit was allowed to advance to trial by a Quebec court.[3][4] Gravel died of lung cancer on August 11, 2014.[5]
LifeSiteNews claimed in 2018 to have a readership of 20 million. Its editor-in-chief is John-Henry Westen, and the president is Steve Jalsevac. The Campaign Life Coalition no longer runs LifeSiteNews, though the two groups share some board members.[6]
On 31 October and 1 November 2023 LifeSiteNews held a conference called Rome Life Forum in Rome, Italy. The conference Web site states:[7]
LifeSiteNews is proud to announce our 2023 Rome Life Forum in Rome, Italy. The two-day strategy conference will be held immediately after the Vatican’s Synod on Synodality which threatens to formalize heretical teachings on the family.
We will focus on confronting the evils of the Deep Church and Deep State and their involvement in the Great Reset agenda. We will learn and work out together how we as Christ’s faithful can combat this diabolical movement under the direction of Our Lady.
Conference attendees will have the opportunity to actively participate in all forum strategy sessions with our guest speakers. The goal of the conference is to provide an interactive experience for all forum participants as we work together to formulate a plan to end corruption in the church, which will ultimately end corruption in the world.
At the forum
Content and views
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in Canada |
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LifeSiteNews was founded for the purpose of opposing legal abortion, and that remains a primary focus.
LifeSiteNews has been described as far-right,[6][16][21] conservative,[13][22][23] social conservative,[6] and ultraconservative.[24][10][19][14]
Fact-checking website Snopes described LifeSiteNews in 2016 as "a known purveyor of misleading information".[25] Paul Moses wrote for Commonweal in 2021 that LifeSiteNews coverage "feigns journalistic accuracy, but misleads through omission".[16] The Canadian Anti-Hate Network described the website in a 2021 report as a "Christian version of Breitbart".[6]
LifeSiteNews regularly publishes
LifeSiteNews has published
Social media bans
LifeSiteNews'
LifeSiteNews' YouTube channel was banned in February 2021 for persistently promoting COVID-19 misinformation. One video claimed that COVID-19 was "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting public". Another promoted anti-vaccine sentiment, cast doubt on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, and stated that COVID-19 "isn't really killing people right and left that weren't probably gonna die within the year anyway". These claims contradicted the scientific consensus and reports from authorities like the World Health Organization, and violated YouTube policies on promotion of health misinformation.[37]
LifeSiteNews was permanently banned from
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9781442615694.
- ^ "Two Solitudes: Lawsuit pits rebel Quebec priest against hardline pro-life news service". National Post. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b Bunderson, Carl (21 February 2013). "Controversial Priest's Lawsuit Against LifeSiteNews Advances". National Catholic Register. Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ Langan, Fred (11 August 2014). "Activist priest Raymond Gravel preached gospel of tolerance". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- ^ "Father Raymond Gravel, outspoken social activist, dies". CBC News. 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "The biggest Canadian far-right news site you probably haven't heard of". Canadaland. 22 February 2021. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Conference schedule". Rome Life Forum. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- OSV News. Archivedfrom the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ Rolling Stone. Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ The Advocate. Archivedfrom the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b Ring, Trudy (20 August 2018). "Meet LifeSite News, One of the Most Anti-LGBTQ Online Outlets". The Advocate. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ a b c Fitzsimons, Tim (27 September 2019). "A viral fake news story linked trans health care to 'thousands' of deaths". NBC News. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b Boorstein, Michelle (30 August 2018). "Former Vatican ambassador's explosive letter reveals influence of conservative Catholic media network". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Pullella, Philip (1 May 2019). "Conservatives want Catholic bishops to denounce pope as heretic". Reuters. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Moses, Paul (13 March 2021). "Sins of Omission". Commonweal. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b Dickson, Caitlin (31 October 2020). "'A global conspiracy against God and humanity': Controversial Catholic archbishop pushes QAnon themes in letter to Trump". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Pullella, Philip (30 August 2018). "Conservative media move to front line of battle to undermine Pope Francis". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Joyce, Kathryn (30 October 2020). "How QAnon and Trumpism Have Revealed a Deep Church Schism Among Catholics". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Budryk, Zack (1 May 2019). "Conservative Catholics accuse Pope Francis of heresy". The Hill. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- The Associated Press. Archivedfrom the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ Lacapria, Kim (3 June 2016). "Fact Check: ACLU Director Resigns Over Transgender Bathroom Policy". Snopes. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ Durkin, Tish (21 October 2020). "The Catholics Who Hate Joe Biden—And Pope Francis". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9780801057212.
- The Associated Press. Archivedfrom the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Baudoin-Laarman, Louis (3 March 2021). "Kentucky monastery Covid-19 cases not evidence of vaccine problems". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "Byram Bridle's claim that COVID-19 vaccines are toxic fails to account for key differences between the spike protein produced during infection and vaccination, misrepresents studies". Health Feedback. 8 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "No scientific evidence for claim by pathologist Ryan Cole that COVID-19 vaccines weaken the immune system". Health Feedback. 27 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "Contrary to claims in a LifeSiteNews article, COVID-19 vaccination makes it less likely for someone to get COVID-19". Health Feedback. 9 October 2021. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ Vitelli, Laura (28 January 2022). "False: COVID-19 vaccines have caused a large number of miscarriages and stillbirths". Logically. Archived from the original on 7 February 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ^ "The film "Died Suddenly" rehashes debunked claims and conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccines". Health Feedback. 29 November 2022. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Richardson, Valerie (29 March 2020). "Twitter pressed to restore pro-life account locked for calling transgender activist 'him'". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Twitter suspends LifeSite for covering Israeli COVID vaccine data". LifeSiteNews. 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Sherman, Carter (11 February 2021). "YouTube Just Banned a Popular Anti-Abortion Channel for COVID Conspiracies". Vice News. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
"In accordance with our longstanding strikes system, we terminated the channel LifeSiteNews Media for repeatedly violating our COVID-19 misinformation policy, which prohibits content that promotes prevention methods that contradict local health authorities or WHO", Ivy Choi, a YouTube spokesperson, told VICE News in an email".
- ^ Bibi, Elizabeth (7 May 2021). "Media Matters, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, and NARAL react to Facebook's permanent ban of LifeSiteNews". Human Rights Campaign. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Media Matters, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, and NARAL react to Facebook's permanent ban of LifeSiteNews". Media Matters for America. 7 May 2021. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "NARAL head brags about helping remove pro-life LifeSiteNews from Facebook". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Holmes, Juwan J. (7 May 2021). "Christian extremist outlet LifeSiteNews finally booted from Facebook". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.