Sandy Hook Denial
[DRAFT]
Disinfo Operation
Alex Jones, a right-wing conspiracy theorist, amassed a huge following on social media platforms and through his website InfoWars. One of the theories Jones had been promoting was that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.
Defense Tactics
In May 2019 Alex Jones was kicked off of Facebook and YouTube after the efforts of a broad coalition of people affected by his lies and offensive speech. Facebook commented that Jones had been banned 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.” In this case, the parents of Sandy Hook victims also were able to appeal to the legal system in addition to platforms: Jones was sued for defamation and ordered by the court to pay the plaintiff $100,000.
Context
The United States has a highly partisan media environment, increasingly bifurcated between the right-wing media ecosystem and other center and left-leaning outlets. InfoWars grew its audience in recent years as part of a larger ascendance of the alt-right. This framing complicated the denotation of disinformation as such, because Jones and his peers argued that these were political differences and their ideology should not be suppressed.
Resources
https://www.vox.com/2018/8/6/17655658/alex-jones-facebook-youtube-conspiracy-theories
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/06/apple-removes-podcasts-infowars-alex-jones