Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars website enjoyed living in Liars’ Paradise, also known as the internet, until it turned into hell on Wednesday.
A Connecticut jury put Jones and his ilk on notice that grievous lies that defame innocent people will not be tolerated, even if delivered while waving the banner of “free speech.” It made it clear that legal boundaries on speech still exist, even on the internet.
A judge had found Jones liable for defamation by default after he failed to produce evidence required in the lawsuit against him. The jury left no doubt how it viewed his activities when it ordered him to pay the defamed family members of eight victims in the 2012 Sandy Hook shootings nearly $1 billion in damages.
Twenty first-grade students and six educators were shot and killed by a single shooter who entered a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. Jones had promoted a theory that the government faked the shootings as a pretext for taking away Americans’ guns.
He also alleged that the kids’ parents were actors who lied about the shootings and the deaths of the children.
He did so through his Infowars website. Overblown conspiracies, including this one, generated millions of views, according to evidence submitted in court hearings.
Family members testified that the harassment of parents that followed Jones’ persistent allegations included online abuse and death threats that forced some to leave their homes.
At long last, the jury decision may signal that the public is fed up and ready to impose serious consequences on people and organizations that disseminate illegal and harmful speech on the internet.
The damages the Connecticut jury awarded should scare the internet’s lie factories truthful.
This was not the first time Jones has been sued for defamation and faced damages. A Texas jury in August awarded plaintiffs nearly $50 million in damages in a similar lawsuit brought by parents of another Sandy Hook victim.
An economic expert who testified in the Texas case estimated that Jones’ net worth ranges from $135 million to $270 million, according to the Texas Tribune.
Jones and his companies have filed for bankruptcy, and it is unknown if he will be able to pay the damages. Yet, he was not humbled. After Wednesday’s jury verdict, Infowars launched a shameless appeal for donations to pay for his legal costs.
The First Amendment to the Constitution that protects political speech has never protected all speech. Speech that defames private individuals, is obscene, promotes illegal conduct or incites imminent lawless action is prohibited by law.
The jury award put internet bloggers, podcasters and video broadcasters on notice that such laws aren’t suspended just because something is posted on the internet.
Turning Liars’ Paradise into hell is a good first step toward a safer and more civil internet.
“Our View” represents the opinion of the newspaper editorial board, which is made up of members of its board of directors. Remarks may be directed to editorialboard@mtexpress.com.
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prevaricate...
to deviate from the truth
to be evasive
to lie
confuse the issue
Pretty much everything you ever post badger……
Case in point.
Lies? Let's look at a few more "lies" that were censored by our gov't colluding with media such as our very own IME:
1. The covid vaxx stops transmission and therefore must be mandated. If you don't get vaxxed, you are killing people. Pfizer just announced last week that the vaxx was never tested to stop transmission. Dr Falsey, what do you have to say about that? Backtracking are we?
2.) Covid did not originate in a Chinese lab and to say so is racist! This proves that President Trump is racist because he called it the "Chinese Virus." Turns out, he was right. Uh oh. Now what?
3.) On Jan 6th, Pelosi and Schumer had NO say in security and Trump did NOT authorize increased National Guard security days before the rally. Oh but email and phone records are a bit@h. I wonder if people like Pelosi and Schumer think they will never get caught in their lies, or do they think people are just too stupid to process the evidence when it eventually comes out. Funkhoser's brain damage comes to mind.
4.) Claims of mistreatment of Jan 6th prisoners are misinformation. Oh but now we know that 900 people have been arrested and imprisoned for Jan 6th. Many have been kept in solitary confinement. Almost 2 years later, these American citizens have not had a trial. Too bad they aren't BLM. They would have been released the same day by lefty prosecutors and judges. Most of the 900 were not in possession of a weapon, did not attack police and didn't even enter the Capital building. This is called a fascist state.
5.) Hunter's laptop. This guy can't be more of an idiot if he tried. The Hunter Biden laptop coverup is getting blown wide open. No wonder the dems are scrambling so hard to censor this "misinformation." And what's up with the more than 50 big boy intelligence operatives, including Ex-Director of the CIA Brennan, signing their letter before the election asserting that Hunter's laptop story was "Russian disinformation?" Of course we know what's up with that. Rigging the 2020 election, that's what. Who needs Russia for that! It's homegrown. The "Big Guy" is in serious trouble next year. Good thing he's got dementia and little girls' hair sniffing to keep him pacified.
6.) The 2020 election was secure. Hahahahahaha. Whistleblowers are blowing this one to shreds. And finally, two years later, court rulings are beginning to confirm the corruption. But we already knew all this really. Glad you lefties are catching up. Oh, you already knew this too did you? With Hillary claiming the election was stolen from her, and Stacey Abrahms running her current campaign on the same thing all these years later? Oh good. At least we are all on the same page with this one.
7.) Critical Race Theory (CRT) is NOT being taught in schools and if you, as a parent, go to your school boards to complain about this non-existent racist curriculum, you will be put on a secret FBI Terrorist Watch list compliments of AG Merrick Garland. Get it straight. If you are a white little boy or girl, you are a perpetrator. If you are a black little boy or girl, you are a victim. End of discussion.
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fiction...
2. a belief or statement that is false, but,
is often held to be true because it is expedient to do so
prevarication.............
Speaking of lies -
I WILL ALWAYS TELL YOU THE TRUTH’: Trump made more than 30,000 false claims in 1,455 days. Here are the biggest lies from the president whose administration introduced us to ‘alternative facts’.
https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/videos/the-biggest-lies-of-the-trump-presidency/258526948979838/
prevarication...[scared]...87,000 new IRS agents are coming for ...you!
Just like Crapo says in his ad on tv - at least he didn’t say that they were all going to be armed
The IRS. Is currently understaffed and the hiring of additional personnel will will be done over time.
What do Tax Collectors do?
@jim Baldwin. . . "What do Tax Collectors do?" They make sure that you pay your taxes so your billionaire over lords don't have to. So dumb.
More COVID vaccine BS from Q’Anonsense. In 2020, all countries had significant decline in life expectancy due to COVID deaths. Since then, life expectancy in developed countries have recovered to pre pandemic levels. That in the US continues in a free-fall, likely due to poor vaccine acceptance. Congratulations USA, we’re on the poor life expectancy podium, in third place behind Bulgaria and Slovakia.
"Lies?!" Oh like you mean when our gov't colludes with media to tell us that vaxxes will stop infections and those who don't get vaxxed are killing people? Or lies like the vaxxes are safe and there are no side effects? Or that masks work, until the CDC finally admits they don't? Or the doosey that just came out yesterday, that we are still in a covid emergency? How about the Russia collusion hoax set up by the FBI, DOJ, Hillary and Obama? Are you paying attention to the Durham trial or is your media making you focus on Alex Jones instead? Oh, and let's not forget how men can be women if they just say so and therefore use our little girls' locker rooms and watch them get undressed. These men calling themselves women can now unfairly compete in women's sports, but if women complain about it, they have their scholarships taken away. If parents speak up at school board meetings trying to protect their children from these sexual predators, they are put on the FBI/DOJ terrorist watchlist. Way to go Merrik Garland. Thank God you are not a Supreme Court Justice!
It's just so sad how willing you people are to violate our Constitution, especially the 1st and 2nd Amendments. You scream "My Body, My Choice" except when it comes to forcing the injections of an experimental drug that was never tested on humans and is only approved under "Emergency Use." Big Pharma is a big reason why the Biden Regime has extended the so-called made up "Emergency." There are other reasons too, but if citizens point these out, the media calls them "liars" and censors them for the supposed "greater good." I don't understand why you people don't just go live in countries where gov't censorship is the rule of law. Stop trying to make us a communist state.
Right on!
So far one charge dropped for lack of evidence.............
Yes. Actually, Danchenko should get acquitted entirely. We have seen over the past week that the real purpose of this case is Durham putting the FBI on trial. We are hearing through the FBI's own testimony under oath, that they knew before the 2016 election that the Steel Dossier, paid for by Hillary, was made up, fabricated, with zero basis in fact. Yet the FBI lied to the FISA court, using the Steel Dossier they knew to be false, to obtain a warrant to put President Trump under surveillance, even while he was president. The FBI then took it further and used the fake Steele Dossier in the Mueller investigation to impeach a president. We know now that Mueller and FBI Director Christopher Wray went along with this. From the very beginning, they knew that Hillary's Steele Dossier was fake.
The Danchenko trial has also revealed that in October 2016, a month before the elections, the FBI offered MI6 Agent Christopher Steele a $1M bounty to verify the dossier. He couldn't. That's $1M of our tax dollars by the way.
FBI folks are scrambling now that this is all coming out and they are trying to pin it on Danchenko. But he's having none of that and it appears Durham might secretly agree with him. Durham's cross examination of his own FBI witnesses was strangely aggressive, and basically proved the defense case for Danchenko. The entire trial has served to reveal the Russian Hoax plot and get it into public record. Of course mainstream media propaganda is not covering this bombshell information. But Americans are bypassing the Deep State controlled media and learning about this all anyway. We shall see what Congressional investigations come next after the mid-terms. Let's not forget how the FBI actually initiated and executed the plot to kidnap the MI governor. That too came out in trial just this summer.
Before Funkhoser and his cronies get their panties in a wad again, this information is easily available on the internet. It's a public trial for pete's sake. Just look it up. So is the Michigan trial on the kidnapping. Information is the best defense against ignorance and stupidity. Of course you need to have a brain to process it.
Total Garbage as usual. "I don't understand why you people don't just go live in countries where gov't censorship is the rule of law. Stop trying to make us a communist state." If the fascist right win anything we will be living in a communist country where censorship will be the norm. 2 despicable for words, your Qanon drivel represents the bottom of the barrel of intellegence. "Russia collusion hoax set up by the FBI, DOJ, Hillary and Obama? " You left out the Beatles, Smoky the Bear and the Martians.
The consummate Idiot. It's a wonder you can even feed your self. BD
This is satire, Right?
Do we censor the KKK? Nobody likes them, but they have a right to their terrible opinions. Do we censor the Holocaust deniers? Nobody likes them or their terrible lies, but they do have a right to shout their lies. When government decides who can speak, we all are the losers.
The Liberty Lobby of Idaho has spoken
Another humor piece from the Our View Comics section. Thanks for the chuckle. Here's an idea. Start holding your breath, yes please, do us all a favor, hold your breath, waiting for InfoWars to pay up $1B. Ooooo, and all the "fascist, racist Make America Great Again folks will be shaking in their cowboy boots because, newsflash!, they are now on alert they will be CENSORED!
Yeah, this guy Alex Jones needs to pay off the Sandy Hook lawyers and parents because he massacred all those children. Oh but wait. He didn't actually kill anybody? What do you mean? It's $1B! He must have killed someone at least. No? Well then he must have violated the 1st Amendment somehow, like by yelling "Fire" in the Sandy Hook Elementary. What? He wasn't even there when it happened?
It's astounding that IME decides to post this kind of Cartoon story when there are so many significant issues we are all grappling with in our lives. Like how about Beddie-Bye Biden declaring we are still in a covid emergency for the next 3 months when just a couple of weeks ago he said it was all over. Alex Jones? Really? Even we who are commenting here have to acknowledge it is just for fun. The $1B question is this: will IME write an op-ed when the appeal goes through. We already know the answer to that.
When others become the ones to decide who will be able to speak, your ability to speak is in danger of being taken, you won’t understand this until you get censored.
Oh, feel free to say what's on your mind. Be prepared, however, to accept the consequences of what you say.
Even if if you know the lies you are telling over and over on the radio, internet, and tv incite and encourage your followers to harass and cause harm to those whom you are blatantly lying about? Then you howl and claim victim hood and raise money from these same followers…. rinse and repeat.
Wouldn’t this also be fraud?
No.
Yet at the same time all you Righties have no issues about going into libraries and banning books about subjects they don't agree with like books dealing with sexual and racial identity.
How about putting those books, which are pornographic, in the elementary and middle school? You think young kids should be exposed to those? You are a pervert.
Since when did Racial Identity become pornographic? It goes to show how little you know about what sexual and racial identity means. Google them.
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