Alex Jones has been asked to pay $965 million in damages to families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. This new fine and previous ones add up to $1.014 billion, according to an estimation by WIRED.
If you are unfamiliar with the events of the shooting, a man named Adam Lanza entered the school armed with rifles and a shotgun. He eventually shot and killed 20 children and six adult staff. Then, he went home and shot his mother before turning the gun to himself and committing suicide.
Following the event, Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist and owner of InfoWars, went on air to claim that the incident was a government operation. He said that it was completely fake and a giant hoax perpetuated to put the Second Amendment in a bad light. Jones would repeat this sentiment several times for many years. He had first been sued in 2018, and from then on, the cost of damages kept rising.
With the most recent fine being close to a billion dollars, it has raised the issue of disinformation, particularly as to how it affects free speech and social media.
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Recall that Facebook and Twitter have, in recent months, shown their zero-tolerance policy for dangerous speech and fake news. They have gone so far as putting notable characters in check, ranging from former US president, Donald Trump, to award-winning rapper Kanye West.
While Alex Jones has been banned from social media, it was a little too late as he had been active for years and gathered millions of followers. So, it is no wonder that the judgment raised a debate, with Jones’ supporters arguing that the decision was an attempt to silence alternative views.
One example is US rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is also banned from Twitter, arguing that Jones had apologised for his wrong words and that the ruling was merely political persecution.
However, there are several law analysts and political commentators who feel that the Alex Jones case would not negatively impact free speech. Although, it does prove that individuals remain answerable for deliberately misleading people to the point of harm.
The social media debates on whether platforms have the right to censor ‘opinions’ are still covered by law until things changes. Will this be the end of shock jock practitioners?
Granted, you may not consume conspiracy theories as your neighbour does. Yet, isn’t that what makes us humans with abilities to think outside of the box? Again, just how far is too far when people are allowed to share ‘opinions’ freely, no matter how harmful they are?
A conundrum that Jones’ judgment has shifted in one direction, to the displeasure of the opposing camp.
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