As Twitchy reported a little bit ago, Infowars’ Alex Jones responded to being “banned from the Internet” by … posting a video on the Internet. Now it’s true that his show has been removed from or is in the process of being removed from Facebook, Spotify, Google, YouTube, Apple, and other sites.
We’re pretty much in line with the take that a private company can ban whomever it wants, but it really does present a slippery slope — even “anti-racism strategist” Tariq Nasheed is concerned that black commentators could be removed next. Why not just let people’s fingers do the walking on the block, mute, and unfollow buttons?
It’d be easier to sympathize with Jones if he’d let other people do the talking right now, but that’s not his style to be sure, and now he’s claiming that “we’re all Alex Jones now.”
https://twitter.com/RealAlexJones/status/1026564123314679808
We’re all for free speech … but are we really all Alex Jones?
No, we're really not https://t.co/Bo5P1btoBd
— Centrist Dad (@daddymojorisin) August 6, 2018
NARRATOR: We are not all Alex Jones. https://t.co/bqqIGBtoG8
— Nathan, son of Robert (@NathanWurtzel) August 6, 2018
cackling like an idiot at "we are all Alex Jones now" https://t.co/sv3DmCDJj7
— real jandek official (@commiejake) August 6, 2018
no, we're not all Alex Jones lmaohttps://t.co/I4B1bFlCP6
— BIGOsSoul (@BIGOsSoul) August 6, 2018
Um, no we're most certainly not. https://t.co/m94aIEkZb8
— Marc Thiessen (@marcthiessen) August 6, 2018
OR ARE WE https://t.co/sCYWrLxtmE
— Anthony Bialy (@AnthonyBialy) August 6, 2018
On the next InfoWars — are well all Alex Jones now?
But I don't want to be Alex Jones https://t.co/VsnHQjcYEV
— Michael S Lang (@michaellang1313) August 6, 2018
What? I didn't agree to that. Damn. Oh well, #JeSuisAlex I guess https://t.co/DWQPDaavbO
— Jon Healy (@JonHealy) August 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/csgentles/status/1026573454479380480
https://twitter.com/Deathby105/status/1026574552162361345
https://twitter.com/Hoobaloobgoob/status/1026574518637223936
oh man do i have to take my shirt off https://t.co/9CC4CcYtNP
— Iván Brandon (@IvanBrandon) August 6, 2018
Personally, I don't think I am Alex Jones. I mean I don't really post on YouTube and Facebook and I don't have Spotify, so I guess we are similar in that respect, but its nice to know I still have the opportunity to post corkboard-style conspiracy theories https://t.co/ewW69IEdZF
— Thomas Kiley (@ThomasEKiley) August 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/The_CSJR/status/1026574027765293068
Nope just checked, still not Alex Jones, not by a long shot, to sane, too tolerant, too resistant to ridiculous conspiracy theories, Also my youtube channel and facebook pages are still unmarred by violations of terms of service or complaints or lawsuits by grieving families. https://t.co/lYPO6ppA7A
— MrCopilot (@mrcopilot) August 6, 2018
Like we said above, it’s a slippery slope, but it’s not helping that it’s Alex Jones leading the charge with “we’re all Alex Jones now” and running with the tyranny angle.
https://twitter.com/AndrewMinAsia/status/1026584902358130688
This is not how free speech works. Free speech means the government can't arrest you for what you say. YouTube, Facebook, and Apple are private companies that have their own rules, and they can choose what to host on their platforms. The world does not owe you a platform. https://t.co/SZzNABBl67
— jesse (@jessechad) August 6, 2018
Now I'm confused. He's still talking/crying about censorship. How ironic. Someone should tell him about these things called websites that he is 100% free to make on his own and spew whatever vile BS he likes. https://t.co/zI3EJqZQsE
— NWNC5th (@nwnc5th) August 6, 2018
Free speech protects you from the government, not private companies.
Maybe stop spreading bullshit conspiracy theories, inciting your base and do a little bit of research before further embarassing yourself. https://t.co/fvG9P29uez
— MusicLovingLiberal (@Soxfan311) August 6, 2018
Nope, my podcast isn't banned on any site. I've also never said school shooting victims were crisis actors. Wonder if those two things are related https://t.co/NyCXBuedM1
— Church Of Atheism (@NaturalBAtheist) August 6, 2018
Wait, so Sandyhook **was** a false flag operation because some businesses are dropping you? Could you show your work? https://t.co/ORGQaGgtxa
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) August 6, 2018
That was pretty abhorrent, but then again, protecting speech sometimes means protecting the right to say things that are abhorrent. Now, if Facebook decides it doesn’t want to provide a platform for that speech …
You can both dislike, and even abhor Alex Jones, and still think that a bunch of companies de-platforming him at the same time is worth being concerned about.
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) August 6, 2018
Well said. And there’s always Gab:
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1026536417923452928
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1026561342696816641
Will this stupid attack on Alex Jones just give him lots more free publicity? Yes. He's trending worldwide and loving it. https://t.co/vTBEjXBVo3
— J. (@jaraparilla) August 6, 2018
We're all Alex Jones now.
? Can we replace the Guy Fawkes mask with the face of Alex Jones? https://t.co/JHJKhDfVUg— Jake (@north262) August 6, 2018
Related:
PLOT TWIST! Tariq Nasheed has a concern about the banning of Alex Jones https://t.co/YwJq81CUgd
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 6, 2018
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