Alex Jones Has Been Banned From Twitter. Before You Cry Censorship, Read This.
Alex Jones on the set of his fake news show Infowars
After years of spreading lies on his show Infowars, Alex Jones has finally been permanently banned from Twitter. This came after he was previously banned by Apple, Youtube, and Facebook – which caused traffic to his content to be cut in half. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey previously prevented Alex Jones’ from being permanently suspended from the platform amid criticism from conservatives that the company was censoring them. But after his antics at the Twitter and Facebook hearing this week, @realAlexJones and @InfoWars are no longer. Here is Twitter’s statement:
Today, we permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars from Twitter and Periscope. We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts’ past violations. https://t.co/gckzUAV8GL
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 6, 2018
After this decision, expect to read endless takes from conservative pundits echoing the sentiment of President Trump and Republican lawmakers that tech companies are systematically censoring conservatives. Let’s set this straight.
Alex Jones is an indecent con man who spread conspiracy theories like Pizzagate that endangered live and inflicted more pain on families of fallen kids through his defamation of Sandy Hook families – which he’s being sued for. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the fabricated lunacy Jones’ has perpetuated.
Jones has a right to free speech, but nothing in the Constitution guarantees him access to privately-owned platforms to spread that speech. Especially if it’s hate speech or speech that proves to be detrimental to the livelihood of other humans. Not to mention the fact Jones clearly violated Twitter’s rules.
If you are a neo-Nazi, a Russian bot, Alex Jones, or anyone else spreading lies that endanger lives, you’re not entitled to a platform. Simple as that. If conservatives are finding themselves increasingly banned from social media platforms, maybe they should look in the mirror and reassess if advocating for white supremacy or false conspiracy theories is worth it.
What we’re seeing isn’t some leftist, deep state, Illuminati-coordinated scheme to suppress conservative voices.
These are tech companies, after they’ve been misused by foreign operatives like Russia to disrupt American democracy, taking responsibility for the power of their platform.
Finally.
