“The money you donate does not go to these people. It goes to fight this fraud.”
As of April 26, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is being ordered to pay $965m (£869m) in damages to the families and survivors of the Sandy Hook school shooting.
The people mentioned throughout this sentence are the parents of the victims from that shooting occurred in the news, one of whom you can see crying on camera if you watch Jones’ live stream.
Jones was taken to court after the public harassment, defamation, violence and conspiracies he promoted on his Infowars website, as well as his talk show.
When his live stream goes on the split screen, it immerses him into a conspiracy theory as if he is in the room with them.
Children involved in this scandal have been thrust into the limelight, with many parents feeling like they had to sacrifice their own children in order to protect their own reputations. These words from Benedictus XVI are the coldest that have ever been said about them.
This case marks a moment of reckoning. Jones has never been awarded damages of this magnitude before, and it sets a huge precedent for the world watching.
New questions have been coming up about the new law passed in the United States. One question is: will this new law end all conspiracies and harmful rumors surrounding mass shootings? That’s what parents of the Sandy Hook victims hope.
While Alex Jones’ supporters will try to find ways around the advertising boycott, this could be the beginning of the end for Info Wars.
He goes on to say “donations are what make us go” after saying “They want us shut down”.
Despite all of the State’s efforts to stop him from speaking the truth, there is no doubt in my mind that what he has been doing is not true. The bereaved families who were at trial know this to be true.
Alex Jones’ audience isn’t a family-friendly user group.
Support for government prompted the lone gunman at the Austin shooting to quickly move from pro-life to anti-government sentiment. Looking past the political implications of their conclusion, it’s likely that this become a more prevalent belief in the wake of upcoming mass shootings and organized attacks.
Under the cover of trusted sources and pseudo-scientific jargon, conspiracy movements have been spreading their messages and tactics across the internet. From this, a growing number of people are vulnerable to manipulation by a conspiracy theorist like Jones.
People who often start with legitimate questions are drawn into these social media worlds where they can find definitive answers to a variety of uncertainty and horrific events. They create a captive audience for the outspoken proponents of conspiracy theories.
And this isn’t limited to the United States.
It feels like today’s world has gone crazy and Jones’ conspiracy theories have gone viral. They’ve made their way worldwide, reaching as far as the UK.
There’s been some speculation as to whether Jones has been ordered to pay so much in damages because people continue to promote unfounded and damaging conspiracy theories.
Alex Jones, who has been widely known for his theory that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax, now says that it was 100% real.
Sandy Hook families have been targeted by disinformation, hate and a staggering amount of fake news. This case is not about money. It’s about the truth and the right to know what has happened to these families.
This jury trial has set a precedent and comes at a huge financial cost to them. They often tell me how they feel let down by social media sites and policy makers, with no response. To make matters worse, they’ve been told they’re on their own. Now, it seems they’re turning to the court system as a solution to seek justice – and the message sent by this jury is loud and clear.
It’s not surprising that Pandora’s box of conspiracies is wide open and has very little in the way of closure. At the least, we’re getting a glimpse of what society may need to see happen in order to fight back against these kinds of conspiracies.
