By Janon Fisher
New York Daily News
Embattled conservative conspiracy podcaster Alex Jones has been tossed off five major media platforms —Facebook, Apple, Google, Youtube and Spotify —for violating the sites’ standards by spreading hate speech.
The media giants did not specifically say what Jones said that earned his banishment.
Weeks ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg bragged about his company’s liberal policy of allowing all types of opinions on his site. He said he would not censor holocaust deniers on his platform even though he personally finds the belief abhorrent.
Monday’s decision to remove Jones’ podcasts, which contain inflammatory opinions, including his denial that the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., actually happened, appears to be in response to the backlash Facebook suffered after his comments.
“We believe in giving people a voice, but we also want everyone using Facebook to feel safe,” according to the company’s statement. “It’s why we have Community Standards and remove anything that violates them, including hate speech that attacks or dehumanizes others. Earlier today, we removed four Pages belonging to Alex Jones for repeatedly posting content over the past several days that breaks those Community Standards.”
Jones has propagated the theory that the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting and the Oklahoma City bomb were government hoaxes.
The host is currently being sued by the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed at Sandy Hook after they were harassed by Jones’ followers and forced to move several times for fear of their lives.
Apple’s iTunes took down Jones’ shows “War Room” and the “Alex Jones Show” over the weekend.
“Apple does not tolerate hate speech, and we have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our users,” an Apple spokesperson said. “Podcasts that violate these guidelines are removed from our directory making them no longer searchable or available for download or streaming. We believe in representing a wide range of views, so long as people are respectful to those with differing opinions.”
Jones was unbowed by the bans and vowed to keep broadcasting on the internet.
Stitcher, a less popular podcast platform, still carries Jones’ show.
