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talkpoliticsAccording to Alex Jones, the Sandy Hook shooting was staged by actors, and the government is behind 9-11. Oh, and climate change is a hoax of course. His craziness would've probably been mere entertainment, if he didn't have millions of followers who take every word he utters at face value. His show is on 90 radio stations, he's got the InfoWars.com, NewsWars.com, PrisonWars.com, the former alone having almost 10 visitors monthly.
Until recently, Jones' propaganda used to be accessible to even larger audiences via platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, and podcasts such as Apple Podcasts and Stitcher, but in recent weeks many of his profiles have been removed, and their contant deleted. Although Jones has been spewing conspiracy theories and fake news for years, the cited reasons for this sudden action against him tends to vary.
Apple was the first to take action against him, stating on BuzzFeed that they don't tolerate hate speech, and non-compliance with the terms of service that's very clearly directed at their content contributors. Podcasts violating these requirements are subject to removal, the statement says. So, Jones' iTunes and Apple Podcasts accounts were removed.
YouTube followed suit soon, removing his main channel as well as the InfoWars one, citing similar reasons. On Monday a speaker for Spotify stated that InfoWars was promoting and advocating violence against groups or individuals based on the way they look, therefore the company had decided to remove all podcast episodes of The Alex Jones Show.
For several years, the calls for platforms like FB and YouTube to take more serious measures against the spreading of fake news have been growing. But the actions against Jones show that these companies are still unprepared to address the problem, since none of them really cites the directed disinformation that he regularly vomits as the main reason. In an episode for the Recode podcast, Mark Zuckerberg said that unfortunately, content can be deleted from the social network only if there's real physical harm being caused by it. During a hearing at the Congress, the his PR director said that publishing fake news is not technically a violation of the FB rules.
And while some companies are reacting at least to some extent, Jone's profiles in Twitter remain active. Jones has reacted with vile and spittle as one could expect, complaining that he has been completely shut out of Facebook, Apple and Spotify, and warning that more conservative outlets are on the line. So far Twitter remains the only major social platform that hasn't taken any measures against him. They've stated that his profiles do not violate any of their rules. Which is a controversial position to say the least, what with even the likes of Pinterest and LinedIn taking measures.
Right now there are at least 5 ongoing lawsuits against Jones: 3 from the families of Sandy Hook victims, 1 from an FBI agent who took part in the rescue operation, and 1 from a guy whom Jones identified as the culprit in the Parkland shooting. Oh, and there's one from a guy who videotaped the Charlottesville clashes, of whom Jones believes is planning to stage a coup against president Trump. Jones has also spread the lie now known as Pizzagate, that the Comet Ping Pong pizza chain is a screen for a pedophile network involving Hillary and Bill Clinton. The "news" prompted an Alex Jones supporter to shoot at one of their restaurants shortly after it was aired, and the owners have frequently been subject to harassment by right-wingers.
So this will likely continue and expand. We talked about the freedom of speech recently, and the question is, where does freedom of speech reach its limit, and where does hate speech and the preaching of violence begin? And what could be done to distinguish them, and then counter the latter? Tricky one, eh?
Until recently, Jones' propaganda used to be accessible to even larger audiences via platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, and podcasts such as Apple Podcasts and Stitcher, but in recent weeks many of his profiles have been removed, and their contant deleted. Although Jones has been spewing conspiracy theories and fake news for years, the cited reasons for this sudden action against him tends to vary.
Apple was the first to take action against him, stating on BuzzFeed that they don't tolerate hate speech, and non-compliance with the terms of service that's very clearly directed at their content contributors. Podcasts violating these requirements are subject to removal, the statement says. So, Jones' iTunes and Apple Podcasts accounts were removed.
YouTube followed suit soon, removing his main channel as well as the InfoWars one, citing similar reasons. On Monday a speaker for Spotify stated that InfoWars was promoting and advocating violence against groups or individuals based on the way they look, therefore the company had decided to remove all podcast episodes of The Alex Jones Show.
For several years, the calls for platforms like FB and YouTube to take more serious measures against the spreading of fake news have been growing. But the actions against Jones show that these companies are still unprepared to address the problem, since none of them really cites the directed disinformation that he regularly vomits as the main reason. In an episode for the Recode podcast, Mark Zuckerberg said that unfortunately, content can be deleted from the social network only if there's real physical harm being caused by it. During a hearing at the Congress, the his PR director said that publishing fake news is not technically a violation of the FB rules.
And while some companies are reacting at least to some extent, Jone's profiles in Twitter remain active. Jones has reacted with vile and spittle as one could expect, complaining that he has been completely shut out of Facebook, Apple and Spotify, and warning that more conservative outlets are on the line. So far Twitter remains the only major social platform that hasn't taken any measures against him. They've stated that his profiles do not violate any of their rules. Which is a controversial position to say the least, what with even the likes of Pinterest and LinedIn taking measures.
Right now there are at least 5 ongoing lawsuits against Jones: 3 from the families of Sandy Hook victims, 1 from an FBI agent who took part in the rescue operation, and 1 from a guy whom Jones identified as the culprit in the Parkland shooting. Oh, and there's one from a guy who videotaped the Charlottesville clashes, of whom Jones believes is planning to stage a coup against president Trump. Jones has also spread the lie now known as Pizzagate, that the Comet Ping Pong pizza chain is a screen for a pedophile network involving Hillary and Bill Clinton. The "news" prompted an Alex Jones supporter to shoot at one of their restaurants shortly after it was aired, and the owners have frequently been subject to harassment by right-wingers.
So this will likely continue and expand. We talked about the freedom of speech recently, and the question is, where does freedom of speech reach its limit, and where does hate speech and the preaching of violence begin? And what could be done to distinguish them, and then counter the latter? Tricky one, eh?
(no subject)
Date: 12/8/18 13:47 (UTC)It seems anytime someone believes there should be limits to free speech, they believe so under the assumption that they and/or like-minded people will be the ones deciding those limits.
When giving power to the mob - I think it's important for all of us to consider 1)you may not always be on the same side as the mob, and 2)once given, we can't take it back.
(no subject)
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