A federal appeals court has decided that a then-12-year-old Philadelphia boy's claims that Newsweek magazine defamed him by accusing him of supporting "raw racism and sexual abuse" by endorsing President Donald Trump in 2016 were rightly dismissed.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit against Newsweek, filed on behalf of Cole McCafferty by his parents, Brian and Melissa McCafferty. The boy gained media attention after releasing a series of social media posts during the 2016 presidential election and beyond, which drew the attention of several outlets from Russian TV stations to Philadelphia Magazine.

Newsweek followed him as well, and in 2018, featured him by name in a piece titled "Trump's Mini-Mes," which Cole McCafferty alleged cast him in a "false light."

However, Third Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote in the court's April 14 opinion that Newsweek's comments were not defamatory and that the magazine was protected by the First Amendment.

"Political discourse can be bruising. People often express opinions that offend others. But the First Amendment protects virtually all of those opinions, even offensive and hurtful ones, to promote a greater good: robust political discourse. The price of free speech is putting up with all sorts of name-calling and hurtful rhetoric," Bibas said.

The judge continued, noting McCafferty "is a politically vocal boy. He claims that a Newsweek article tarred him, at age 12, by accusing him of 'defending raw racism and sexual abuse.' But the article contained derogatory opinions based only on disclosed facts, which are not enough to show defamation or false light. Even if they could, C.M. does not plead facts showing actual malice, which the First Amendment requires of those who step into the political spotlight. So the district court dismissed his claims, finding that no reasonable reader would think the article defamed him. We agree and will affirm."

McCafferty's lawyer, Dion Rassias of the Beasley Firm, did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Newsweek's attorney, Jeremy Mishkin of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads.

According to Bibas, the article in question referenced McCafferty in two paragraphs in which Columbia Journalism School professor Todd Gitlin was quoted.

In the passages where Gitlin was quoted, Newsweek reported that far-right-leaning adults used children to advance their political agenda.

The article said that interviews with McCafferty and others like him "'camouflage' positions of the hard right 'as feel-good sweetness and light, when, in fact, they are defending raw racism and sexual abuse.'"

The article featured other quotes from Gitlin on the issue in general:

"'These kids are reveling in the chance to show off," Gitlin says. "'They're getting the chance to be little celebrities. If a kid is … reading chapter and verse a text written by somebody else, and is circumventing grown-up questions, then I think that's bait-and-switch politics.' … "There's a sinister quality to this. Kids are being seduced with the promise of being celebrities. In this case, the instigators are recruiting for a sort of boys' and girls' auxiliary, for what they believe to be a sacred crusade.'"

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Newsweek's motion to dismiss, reasoning that Gitlin's statements did not defame McCafferty because they faulted not children, but adults on the "hard right," according to Bibas.

Additionally, a derogatory accusation, such as racism or sexism, by itself is not enough to prove defamation. There needs to be more, Bibas said, like an allegation that a crime was committed.

"But professor Gitlin alleged no specific, unlawful wrongdoing," Bibas said. "While saying that someone committed a crime may be defamatory, publicly defending those accused of racism or sexual abuse is not unlawful. We see no evidence that Pennsylvania would let defenders of those accused of bigotry or crime bring defamation actions whenever a publication mentions their defense."