Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $ 1 billion to the families of the Sandy Hook victims
14 november 2024 в 21:37
Alex Jones, an ultra-conservative radio show host and well-known conspiracy theorist, was ordered to pay over 1 billion dollars to the families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 for the harm he caused them by continuing to spread lies that the massacre was a hoax. The Connecticut court decision, issued on October 12, 2022, follows 45 million dollars in punitive sanctions that Jones was ordered to pay to the family of another victim two months ago by a Texas court. Although Jones' lawyer stated they will appeal the verdicts, ultimately his platform «InfoWars» was sold to The Onion in a bankruptcy auction.
He founded the website in 1999, dedicated to Alex’s speeches, his radio show, and most likely his extremist conspiracy theories. Among them are his loud and long-standing claims that the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children, was a hoax. He claimed that the deadly explosion at the federal building in Oklahoma in 1995 was government-organized terrorism, and that the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington were caused by the George Bush administration. «I will tell you the final point», - he said at the time, «98 percent chance it was a government-controlled explosion».
Alex’s vitriolic speech led to his suspension on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms. On September 6, 2018, Twitter announced: «Today we permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars on Twitter and Periscope. We made this decision based on new reports of tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abuse policy, in addition to past account violations». When Facebook announced in 2019 that Alex was banned, along with other extremists including Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, the company stated in a release: «We have always banned individuals or organizations that propagate or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process of evaluating potential violators is extensive and it led us to the decision to remove these accounts today».
In 2010, he claimed that the Pentagon developed a «gay bomb». «The reason there are so many gay people now is because it’s a chemical warfare operation, and I have government documents where they said they will encourage homosexuality with chemicals so people don’t have children», - he said on NBC News in 2010. In 2017, he claimed that «most frogs in most areas of the United States are now gay», - although he had no evidence. He also said that the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida in 2016 was the fault of the LGBT community. In 2018, he claimed that the Pentagon created «spiritual warfare» that «will make men attracted to each other, and they want you to do it so you don’t have children». He made other anti-LGBT statements that helped him be banned on social media platforms.
In 2014, he posted a video on InfoWars asking «Is Michelle Obama a man?» He then called Michelle a transgender insult «tranny». And it didn’t stop after she left the White House. In 2017, he ranted that «Since the beginning of the Obama administration, citizens have been studying videos and photos of Michelle Obama and saying she’s a man. But a new shocking video has been censored on the internet as quickly as you can upload it». He then showed photos and videos of folds in her pants and skirts and boldly claimed to have seen a large «penis» outline.
Alex was a strong supporter of Donald Trump, telling his listeners that this real estate mogul was practically sent by God to save the White House. During an interview on his show in 2015, Trump thanked him, saying to Jones, «Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down», - according to The Washington Post. However, it is unclear what their alliance status is after Jones' lawsuit against the Sandy Hook families
He founded the website in 1999, dedicated to Alex’s speeches, his radio show, and most likely his extremist conspiracy theories. Among them are his loud and long-standing claims that the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children, was a hoax. He claimed that the deadly explosion at the federal building in Oklahoma in 1995 was government-organized terrorism, and that the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington were caused by the George Bush administration. «I will tell you the final point», - he said at the time, «98 percent chance it was a government-controlled explosion».
Alex’s vitriolic speech led to his suspension on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms. On September 6, 2018, Twitter announced: «Today we permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars on Twitter and Periscope. We made this decision based on new reports of tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abuse policy, in addition to past account violations». When Facebook announced in 2019 that Alex was banned, along with other extremists including Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, the company stated in a release: «We have always banned individuals or organizations that propagate or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process of evaluating potential violators is extensive and it led us to the decision to remove these accounts today».
In 2010, he claimed that the Pentagon developed a «gay bomb». «The reason there are so many gay people now is because it’s a chemical warfare operation, and I have government documents where they said they will encourage homosexuality with chemicals so people don’t have children», - he said on NBC News in 2010. In 2017, he claimed that «most frogs in most areas of the United States are now gay», - although he had no evidence. He also said that the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida in 2016 was the fault of the LGBT community. In 2018, he claimed that the Pentagon created «spiritual warfare» that «will make men attracted to each other, and they want you to do it so you don’t have children». He made other anti-LGBT statements that helped him be banned on social media platforms.
In 2014, he posted a video on InfoWars asking «Is Michelle Obama a man?» He then called Michelle a transgender insult «tranny». And it didn’t stop after she left the White House. In 2017, he ranted that «Since the beginning of the Obama administration, citizens have been studying videos and photos of Michelle Obama and saying she’s a man. But a new shocking video has been censored on the internet as quickly as you can upload it». He then showed photos and videos of folds in her pants and skirts and boldly claimed to have seen a large «penis» outline.
Alex was a strong supporter of Donald Trump, telling his listeners that this real estate mogul was practically sent by God to save the White House. During an interview on his show in 2015, Trump thanked him, saying to Jones, «Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down», - according to The Washington Post. However, it is unclear what their alliance status is after Jones' lawsuit against the Sandy Hook families
© Smirnova Olga
