Ο Alex Jones πρέπει να πληρώσει αποζημίωση 4,1 εκατομμύρια δολάρια για τη διάδοση της θεωρίας συνωμοσίας του σχετικά με την σφαγή στο Δημοτικό Σχολείο Σάντι Χουκ.
Ο Alexander Emerick Jones is an American far-right radio producer and the most popular and influential conspiracy theorist. It owns the news websites InfoWars, “NewsWars” and “PrisonPlanet”.
Jones has alleged that the United States government has either withheld information or distorted the facts regarding various shocking events in the country, such as the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School killings.
On December 14, 2012, an armed man invaded the Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut, USA, killed 20 students and 6 members of the teaching staff and then committed suicide. The incident sparked international interest and rekindled debate in the United States over the legal status of gun ownership.
Alex Jones claimed that this attack never actually happened, that it was staged by the US Government with actors and to ban gun ownership. The parents of the dead children sued for defamation, emotional distress and intimidation after Alex Jones has 2.4m subscribers worldwide and there were fears fans would take revenge against them.
Today Alex Jones is now banned from all major social media, Youtube has taken down his channel and the radio stations he worked for have stopped working with him.
Οι θεωρίες συνομωσίας που διέδιδε, εκτός από το σχολείο Σάντι Χουκ, είχαν ένα ευρύ φάσμα για όλα τα μεγάλα γεγονότα ανά την υφήλιο, όπως για τη βομβιστική επίθεση στην Οκλαχόμα το 1995, τις επιθέσεις της 11ης Σεπτεμβρίου και την προσελήνωση το 1969.
He has claimed that several governments and multinationals intend to create a "New Order" through technology and the ability it gives them to create artificial economic crises.
During his trial at Sandy Hook in the absence of evidence and fear of punishment, he was forced to admit that the events at Sandy Hook were 100% true, apologizing for "hurting those people's feelings." The court's penalty was $4,1 million in damages.
Jones claimed during the trial that any fine above $2 million would "destroy him financially," but court records showed that Jones' website "Infowars" was making $50 million a year even after his theories were debunked .
In addition, Jones tried to hide his money during the trial. His company "Free Speech Systems" (FSS) filed for bankruptcy with $54 million in debt and another company that appears to be controlled by Jones has been accused of "systematically collecting large sums of money" from FSS to limit its losses.
Doing a cost-benefit calculation for the conspiracy theories and for Jones we can say that so far, the costs amount to today's verdict of $4,1 million, with some much smaller previous fines, as well as $15 million in legal fees, is less than the benefits estimated at tens of millions of dollars each year.
But how apt noted legal writer Ken White, the decision won't necessarily reduce the size of his audience for Jones' (or any Jones') often untrue claims or his ability to make money from them, even if he's abandoned that particular theory.
«Οι άνθρωποι που απολάμβαναν την αληθοφάνεια του Sandy Hook δεν τον απολάμβαναν επειδή ήταν πραγματικά πειστικός ή συνεκτικός. Απολάμβαναν τη συναισθηματική κατάσταση που μετέφερε επειδή ταίριαζε με τη δική τους», έγραψε ο White. «Οι τεχνικές λεπτομέρειες της δίκης είναι πιθανώς ανεπαρκείς για να αλλάξουν γνώμη στο κοινό».
