So, apparently, all of the big tech giants got together in a secret meeting to discuss, and coordinate the banning of Alex Jones and Infowars from social media. I thought Anti-trust laws were put in place to prevent things like this?
Alex Jones was banned from Facebook, Youtube, Spotify, and Apple all on the same day. His channel was banned from Youtube after only one strike he was reportedly told that there was no chance for appeals.
Fake News CNN has been the most adamant news outlet behind the push to ban Infowars. Now, after recently receiving the crown for number one news app in both Apple and Google store, CNN said that the Infowars app should be taken off of the Apple Store. The Infowars app is trending, and currently has a perfect score of 5 stars. It’s worth noting that although Alex Jones was indeed pulled from iTunes, his app was ‘allowed’ to stay on the Apple store.
Facebook is quickly moving towards a draconian social credit score system, reminiscent of the current work-in-progress system of China. Like the Chinese social credit system, Facebook is also known for its strong facial recognition algorithm. What makes this comparison even stranger is the fact that Mark Zuckerberg actually met with the Chinese President and discussed the censored version of Facebook for China. CNBC called it a “Huge Betrayal”. Not only did Zuckerberg meet with the Chinese president, CEOS from other tech giants such an APPLE also attended. Although there was what seemed to be a public spat between Mark Zuckerberg Tim Cook, they both seem to be perfectly on board with banning free speech.
Facebook said they were shutting down several of Jones’s pages for “glorifying violence, which violates our graphic violence policy and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies.” Apple said in a statement to BuzzFeed News, “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,” adding, “podcasts that violate these guidelines are removed from our directory.” Mainstream media has accused Jones of bullying, yet that’s hard to claim when CNN is allowed to track down Trump supporters and doxx them live on television (See bottom of page).
The eerily 1984-esque move towards censorship isn’t hard to sense, considering the recent revelations of conservatives being shadowbanned on both Twitter and Facebook, the so-called bias “fact checks” from Facebook on right-wing news outlets, the Facebook-sponsored propaganda news shows (which we warned about before on Goldfire) the mass demonetization of conservative Youtube channels and now Youtube announcing that they were going to start doing “fact checks” on climate change videos.
Alex Jones, who’s never been one to take things lying down, is now requesting a Congressional hearing
In a series of tweets, the legendary radio host demanded his right to respond to Democrat lawmakers who have been lobbying Facebook and Google to ban Infowars for months.
“I respectfully ask Congress to allow me to face my accusers,” he tweeted. “There have been multiple hearings where the banning of Infowars has been discussed & lobbied for by Democrats. Now it’s happened. I want to attend an open session where I am allowed to defend my right to free speech.”
I respectfully ask Congress to allow me to face my accusers.
There have been multiple hearings where the banning of Infowars has been discussed & lobbied for by Democrats. Now it’s happened.
I want to attend an open session where I am allowed to defend my right to free speech.
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 10, 2018
Jones is referring to hearings last month during which Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL). demanded Facebook shut down Infowars.
At a hearing last year, Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley also pressured Twitter to remove Infowars content, a request with which they complied.
Jones also demanded his right to “not to be ‘unpersoned’ by giant corporations who act like monopolies” and to “expose how this is all about moving towards a Communist Chinese-style ‘social credit score’ dystopia.”
Where I am allowed to defend my right not to be ‘unpersoned’ by giant corporations who act like monopolies.
To expose how this is all about moving towards a Communist Chinese-style ‘social credit score’ dystopia.
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 10, 2018
“You may not like me, you may despise my politics, but I am the canary in the coal mine,” said Jones. “They want to set a horrendous precedent which will strangle free speech online, FOREVER.”
You may not like me, you may despise my politics, but I am the canary in the coal mine.
They want to set a horrendous precedent which will strangle free speech online, FOREVER.
Should billionaires & huge corporations get to decide what we can say and read?
Don’t let them win!
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 10, 2018
Jones then focused his aim towards Fake News CNN, which has been the biggest cheerleader for the campagin to get Infowars banned. CNN has made claims including that Infowars has encouraged “bullying” and glorified violence, yet this is a hard argument to make when they allow members of their network to publicly harass Trump supporters.
This is a political assassination of my character.
I am never allowed on CNN to defend myself.
Things are constantly attributed to me that I never said.
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 10, 2018
The media was weaponized mob outrage to silence “offensive” speech.
CNN has led a lobbying campaign to shut down a competing network.
This isn’t journalism, this is activism.
In Russia, the government shuts down the media, in America, giant corporations take on that role.
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 10, 2018
It’s the height of hypocrisy for CNN to claim Infowars engages in “bullying”.
We don’t send camera crews to doxx and harass old ladies outside their homes like CNN did.
We don’t threaten to doxx people who create memes like CNN did.
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 10, 2018
This is what Jones is referring to in regards to doxxing people:
A Florida woman who ran a Trump supporters page that unwittingly promoted a Russian-coordinated event on Facebook says she doesn’t believe that she was influenced by Kremlin-linked trolls https://t.co/DmgDRFRwyn pic.twitter.com/OAz5julCyA
— CNN (@CNN) February 21, 2018
He then even took it a few steps further, accusing the network of promoting wars that have killed millions of people.
“CNN accuses Infowars of glorifying violence. How many wars did CNN glorify? Your chief national security analyst advocated the invasion of Libya,” tweeted Jones in reference to a 2011 article by Peter Bergen which argued for military intervention.
CNN accuses Infowars of glorifying violence.
How many wars did CNN glorify?
Your chief national security analyst advocated the invasion of Libya.
A war which led to the migrant crisis, the rise of ISIS & hundreds of thousands of deaths.
How is that not glorifying violence?
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 10, 2018
“A war which led to the migrant crisis, the rise of ISIS & hundreds of thousands of deaths. How is that not glorifying violence?” asked Jones.
“Are conservatives just going to sit back and let CNN thought police the nation?” asked Jones. “We need congressional hearings, we need a task force, we need to say no more.”
Are conservatives just going to sit back and let CNN thought police the nation?
We need congressional hearings, we need a task force, we need to say no more.
You may despise Alex Jones and Infowars, but I’m the beta test for a wider purge.
If you do nothing, you’ll be next.
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 10, 2018
Alex Jone’s warning about a larger purge should not go unheeded. It appears like we’ll have to wait and see if Alex Jones gets his day in Congress.