Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the social media firm won’t “succumb” to outside pressure to suspend conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his InfoWars publications, even after several rival platforms did so.
In a series of tweets late Monday, Dorsey explained that Jones simply hadn’t violated Twitter’s rules and said a “one-off” strike against Jones would only “make us feel good in the short term” and lead to new conspiracy theories. He also called on journalists to counter false claims made by Jones and others.
Accounts like Jones’ can often sensationalize issues and spread unsubstantiated rumors, so it’s critical journalists document, validate, and refute such information directly so people can form their own opinions. This is what serves the public conversation best.
— jack (@jack) August 8, 2018
For years, Jones has cultivated a following who have listened to him allege that the Sept. 11 terror attacks were an inside job, the Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax, and that a “New World Order” will commit a mass genocide. Two weeks ago, Jones called special counsel Robert Mueller a “monster” and a “pedophile” while threatening to shoot him and also accused technology giants of shadow-banning him.
Some reprisals had already begun to happen weeks ago — for instance, last month Facebook removed four videos from pages tied to Jones and InfoWars because they violated the platform’s hate speech and bullying polices. Jones also received a 30-day suspension from Facebook — but in the past couple of days there has been a widespread takedown of his content. Several technology platforms, including Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Spotify, pulled years of InfoWars material, citing violations of their codes of conduct relating to hate speech.
Dorsey’s explanation for not suspending Jones and his rallying call to journalists was met with mockery and scorn on Twitter, after which Jones posted a video thanking Dorsey for not caving to the “high-tech lynch mob” for now.
“I don’t know if you’re sincere in defending free speech. All I know is The mere fact that you’re saying that your standing up for it is a good thing and you’re being attack and so I’m glad that you’ve doubled down at least for now,” he said.
[Related: Media see slippery slope on social media after Alex Jones ban]
Alex Jones message to Jack Dorsey concerning the purge.. https://t.co/ERXF1Sg6MZ
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 8, 2018
