Final task: Why I think Alex Jones is the worst

When I say the worst, I don't mean Alex Jones is the absolute worst being to have existed. I only mean that his lies and right-wing agenda leave a lot for me to be infuriated about. Just thought I'd point that out.

Anyways, I will have to keep my comic concise, and thus I can't talk in length about all the shit he's done, so I have decided to mention three reasons and examples: his business model, the Pizzagate and the Sandy Hook school shooting affair.

Alex Jones the snake-oil salesman

Alex Jones being an amazing example of how his line of products will help maintain your rugged self.

Alex is (rightfully) labeled as a snake oil salesman. Among other things, on his website Infowars Jones sells a variety of health supplements and products, which incidentally seem to be the answer to many of the problems he brings up in his broadcasts. So for an example, if you feel like you are turning gay because of the tap water, Alex Jones is selling the Super Male Vitality drop and, of course, water filtration devices.

Jones's health supplements of course have no proven effect, which can be seen in this article from Buzzfeed News, where they sent Jones's supplements to be checked: We Sent Alex Jones' Infowars Supplements To A Lab. Here's What's In Them.

Regardless, the supplement sales are one of the biggest sources of income for Jones. One estimate from 2017 said his sales would have brought in 25 million dollars in 2015-2017. So it seems like an effective business model, as is summarised in an article on Intelligencer:

"It is a brilliant business model. If you can be convinced that an international cabal of globalists is hell-bent on creating a New World Order, perhaps you could be persuaded to buy Infowars Life Survival Shield X-2, a one-fluid-ounce bottle of iodine supplement for $39.95."

So even being a self-pronounced "skeptic" might not save you from bullshit. Who knew.

Pizzagate

As a proper right-winger, Jones has actively spoken against Obama's and Clinton's presidential campaigns. By spoken against, I of course mean spread the worst possible lies he can to demonize the Democrat candidates. One example of this is the so-called Pizzagate incident.

The Pizzagate is a name given to the conspiracy theory that claimed that Hillary Clinton and her former campaign chairman John Podesta ran a child sex ring in Washington DC, in the basement of a pizza restaurant called Comet Ping Pong. The theory is interpreted from Podestas leaked emails, which supposedly contained "coded messages" about the sex ring. This theory is likely the works of the alt-right and was spread online via outlets like 4chan, 8chan and even Twitter.

InfoWars of course picked up and boosted this conspiracy theory. In a YouTube video from November 2016, Jones specifically stated that “Hillary Clinton has personally murdered and chopped up and raped [children].”

Jones has also stated that the only way to fight the New World Order is for the citizens to take action. Incidentally, the event led a man to go investigate the restaurant, where he ended up firing a rifle. The restaurant owners also received several death threats because of the conspiracy theory.

So my second reason to hate Jones is that he actually has an impact and he uses it to legitimize harassment. If not directly, by encouraging people to take action.

Sandy Hook school shooting

The third reason is that while Jones makes bold and hurtful comments, he is actually a total fraud and a coward when he gets in trouble. He has backed down from the Pizzagate theory, but still has gone on business as usual, since he is not bound by the danger of losing his reputation for breaking the rules of journalism.

Whether Jones is for real or not is actually a very interesting question. He has been his emotional manic self since his public access days, but has always seen the business opportunities in what he's doing and every time he actually gets in trouble, he claims he is either playing a character or backs down, pleading insanity.

One current example of this has to do with the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, where 20 children and 6 adults were killed. InfoWars promoted a conspiracy theory that the whole event was an inside-job staged by the government to pass stricter gun control laws. Jones even went as far as to say that "no one died in Sandy Hook".

As it turns out, parents don't like it when you say their dead children were child actors and never existed (not to mention all the harassment caused by the conspiracy theories). Many parents of the victims have sued Jones, among other conspiracy theorists, for defamation. Because of this Jones is currently facing defamation suits from nine families. And, as of 2019, things are not looking good for him: Alex Jones Can’t Stop Losing Court Battles Against Sandy Hook Parents

Of course Jones backed down on his claims and blamed his comments on a form of "psychosis", as any man with conviction would say. Not that I would want him to maintain his lunatic claims, but it just pains me when he repeatedly does this and isn't losing followers.

Let's hope that all the legal costs do as much disservice to InfoWars as possible.

Here's a rather sweaty Alex.