Tech Companies Fighting Conspiracy Theorists

Alex Jones, highly vocal founder and ringmaster of conspiracy theory “journalism” site Infowars, has taken to the various online airwaves to fight back against what he feels is censorship and a violation of his freedom of speech.

The issue in question is the multiple-platform ban of many of his site’s videos and podcasts, namely the removal of past episodes by YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Facebook, and others.

Jones, who is now feeling the financial pinch of losing his broadcast mechanisms, is lashing out and encouraging boycotts and call-in campaigns, among other tactics. This issue first made news for the man who has admitted in court that he is a “performance artist” rather than a journalist when YouTube stripped him of the ability to advertise on his channel.

The reason?

The tech firms have stated that his performances violate their terms of service, namely their prohibitions on hate speech, racial and ethnic targeting, and other legal gray areas. At the heart of their actions may be a high-profile lawsuit filed on behalf of parents whose young children were murdered in the Sandy Hook school shooting; Jones has maintained in many different broadcasts that this and other mass shootings never took place, that they are government fabrications in order to justify gun control laws. The parents, who have claimed that they’ve received death threats from people who believe Jones’ rage-fueled screaming broadcasts, are suing for the pain and suffering he’s caused.

It stands to reason that Apple, Google, and other tech giants might not want to be pulled into this and any other lawsuits against Jones, as they are the platforms that provided mass audience reach for his daily performances. Even if they are cleared of any involvement, the legal fight would not be inexpensive.

Earlier this week, Twitter came under fire for defending Jones and  the contents of his Twitter feed.

The company and its founder issued several tweets that justified their decision not to shut down Jones’ or Infowars’ accounts, despite numerous shares of statements that other users felt violated the company’s terms of use.

Most likely as a result of action taken by concerned tech companies, the Infowars app has shot to the top tiers of the various app stores as devotees of the performer clamor for more of his content.