Alex Jones and InfoWars, his conspiracy-peddling news network, are at the heart of a debate this past week over censorship on the internet. Jones was given a 30-day suspension from Facebook last week. YouTube also took down four of his videos for violating its terms of service and handed him his “first strike,” which means his channel can’t livestream for 90 days.
Now people have been demanding that other services remove Jones from their platforms. The latest tech giant to come under fire? Spotify.
And Alex Jones only has himself to blame.
Earlier today, Jones tweeted about big tech giants censoring him, with a link to his content on Spotify.
🚨 Fight Against The Censorship 🚨
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) July 30, 2018
Big tech giants are currently censoring us harder than ever. Help us fight this censorship by spreading the links below for our downloadable podcasts. ✊
‼️ Spreaker: https://t.co/fNDSRsZPzd ‼️
‼️ Spotify: https://t.co/wWDxVECy8w ‼️
Jared Holt, a writer with Right Wing Watch, then tweeted out a screenshot of Jones’ presence on the platform this morning, noting how difficult it is to get a podcast on Spotify.
https://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1023944316794941440
This is nothing new. Jones and InfoWars have had a presence on Spotify for years, with episodes of “Freedom Nuggets” from InfoWars available as early as 2015.
But in today’s climate, with many on the left furious at platforms for giving voice to what they deem “hate speech,” seeing a tweet about InfoWars being on Spotify was enough to incite a call for a ban.
Holy shit. Really, @Spotify?
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) July 30, 2018
Alex Jones has been responsible for harassing parents of Sandy Hook children, Vegas shooting victims and threatening to kill the Special Counsel. And you’re now hosting his podcasts?? https://t.co/dAIYiNKdXP
https://twitter.com/ianvalentine/status/1023962312909225984
https://twitter.com/katana_angel/status/1023958213912403969
https://twitter.com/sangio_davese/status/1023962968420057088
#DeleteSpotify @Spotify https://t.co/VYm3gC3KDZ
— SuzyQL (Not *that* Q) 🧡💙🇺🇸🇮🇹 (@SuzyQL) July 30, 2018
@Spotify, this is unbelievable. Please reconsider hosting Infowars! https://t.co/05FbeZGrhI
— Diana Burbano 🧡 🖊️🔥🗡️ (@loladiana) July 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/Wrecking_Thief/status/1023965357919232000
So Alex Jones’ tweet highlighting censorship may just get him censored.
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Spotify did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.