Facebook finally cracks down on Alex Jones and Infowars
Conspiracy-monger Alex Jones has been on thin ice for a while, and tech companies have finally had enough.
Facebook on Monday announced in a blog post that it had deleted four pages run by Jones, who hosts Infowars. Apple and Spotify additionally removed Infowars podcasts, with all three companies citing content that violated standards.
Content on several Jones-affiliated Facebook pages was removed "for glorifying violence," the blog post explained, "and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims, and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies." Facebook said several posts were reported, and that Jones had accumulated too many "strikes" against him.
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Spotify, meanwhile, said that the right-wing provocateur had "lost access to the Spotify platform" because of repeated reports of hate content. Apple removed the entire library of Infowars podcasts from iTunes, reports BuzzFeed News.
Jones has faced criticism for claiming that parents of children killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School are "crisis actors," and for promoting the conspiracy theory that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington were staged by the government. Facebook will allow Jones to appeal the decision before permanently deleting the pages from the platform.
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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