Alex Jones content removed from Facebook, Youtube, Apple

Call Me Jimmy · 16-08-2018 12:39AM

Billy86 wrote: »

If a boards.ie poster lead a charge that Ana Kriegel's death a few months back was a hoax and goaded others into sending her parents death threats to the point they had to move house, multiple times and hundreds of miles away from her grave... and then continued to goad about it being a hoax, would you want that poster banned, or would you scream about 'free speech' in their defense?

Alex Jones wasn't banned for Sandy Hook, he was banned for 'hate speech' / 'glorifying violence'. If he was banned for Sandy Hook I wouldn't have a problem with that if he called people to action. When it gets into the realm of calling it a hoax and his viewers go and do the stuff they did it's a little more grey. In that case it may be less grey but it means a precedent is there and it's creeps into even more subjective territory.

My main concern here is the normalisation of all these tactics. As I've said companies can do what they want but that doesn't mean we couldn't as a society spot the dangers and at the very least not applaud this crap. It's so painfully obvious where it's going.

Billy86 · 16-08-2018 12:42AM

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

Alex Jones wasn't banned for Sandy Hook, he was banned for 'hate speech' / 'glorifying violence'. If he was banned for Sandy Hook I wouldn't have a problem with that if he called people to action. When it gets into the realm of calling it a hoax and his viewers go and do the stuff they did it's a little more grey because your getting into grey territory. In that case it may be less grey but it means a precedent is there and it's creeps into even more subjective territory.

My main concern here is the normalisation of all these tactics. As I've said companies can do what they want but that doesn't mean we couldn't as a society spot the dangers and at the very least not applaud this crap. It's so painfully obvious where it's going.

Should people be banned from a service for repeatedly and knowingly breaking the terms of that service to an extreme extent, ruining lives in the process?

It's been asked multiple times now... why does nobody throwing their toys out of the pram want to answer this?

Call Me Jimmy · 16-08-2018 12:45AM

Billy86 wrote: »

Should people be banned from a service for repeatedly and knowingly breaking the terms of that service to an extreme extent, ruining lives in the process?

It's been asked multiple times now... why does nobody throwing their toys out of the pram want to answer this?

He didn't break the terms of service for that. I don't think even one company mentioned that and he was removed off all them what, years after he said it?

Billy86 · 16-08-2018 12:47AM

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

He didn't break the terms of service for that. I don't think even one company mentioned that and he was removed off all them what, years after he said it?

He did break theirs TOS, and he did so repeatedly. Over and over again he did it. And the likes of Youtube let it slide because he made them money.

Now, he is persona non grata and Patreon want nothing to do with him he will lose them money.

So yeah, to answer your initial question - the irony of that puts a big smile on my face.

Call Me Jimmy · 16-08-2018 12:49AM

Billy86 wrote: »

He did, and he did repeatedly. Over and over he did it. And the likes of Youtube let it slide because he made them money.

Now, he is persona non grata and Patreon want nothing to do with him he will lose them money.

So yeah, to answer your initial question - the irony of that puts a big smile on my face.

... just read the statements, jesus. No patreon 'want nothing to do with' an anti-islam guy because mastercard threatened them.

c.p.w.g.w · 16-08-2018 12:51AM

Of topic a bit, but i did see a group of people aged 18-21 in limerick a few weeks back wearing infowars merchandise...i was that sounds familiar, then i remembered what it was. Was very surprised to see people like that in Limerick

Billy86 · 16-08-2018 12:55AM

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

... just read the statements, jesus. No patreon 'want nothing to do with' an anti-islam guy because mastercard threatened them.

I know, and that's why it puts a big smile on my face to see the same thing that let him spread his bile and hatred without consequence from the providers (making money) now come back and bite him in the ass as Patreon want nothing to do with him for that exact same reason (losing money).

Karma sometimes truly is a thing of beauty.

Dohnjoe · 16-08-2018 01:07AM

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

Alex Jones wasn't banned for Sandy Hook, he was banned for 'hate speech' / 'glorifying violence'.

According to Spotify it was bc his views “expressly and principally promotes, advocates, or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual based on characteristics.”

Encouraging the harassment of relatives of victims of Sandy Hook would certainly fall under that umbrella

Facebook - "Since then, more content from the same Pages has been reported to us — upon review, we have taken it down for glorifying violence, which violates our graphic violence policy, and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies... While much of the discussion around Infowars has been related to false news, which is a serious issue that we are working to address by demoting links marked wrong by fact checkers and suggesting additional content, none of the violations that spurred today’s removals were related to this."

The Legend Of Kira · 16-08-2018 01:30AM

Billy86 wrote: »

I know, and that's why it puts a big smile on my face to see the same thing that let him spread his bile and hatred without consequence from the providers (making money) now come back and bite him in the ass as Patreon want nothing to do with him for that exact same reason (losing money).

Karma sometimes truly is a thing of beauty.

I,ve followed Robert Spencer for years online he,s a well known critic of Islam- is any criticism of Islam " bile " in your view ?

The Legend Of Kira · 16-08-2018 01:35AM

Billy86 wrote: »

If a boards.ie poster lead a charge that Ana Kriegel's death a few months back was a hoax and goaded others into sending her parents death threats to the point they had to move house, multiple times and hundreds of miles away from her grave... and then continued to goad about it being a hoax, would you want that poster banned, or would you scream about 'free speech' in their defense?

Some facts Alex Jones wasn,t banned over his past comments on sandy hook, he was banned for " hate speech " which is very vague, if his posts or videos relating to sandy hook were taken down with a notice explaining why. " This post has been removed as its the matter of court defamation proceedings. " I could understand that, hate speech very vague could apply to other stuff in the future.

The Legend Of Kira · 16-08-2018 01:45AM

The argument its private company/ private business etc I won,t be hypothetical but I will use a real life example, the ashers bakery case over the refusal to bake the cake, some might say & make the same argument they re a private company they have a right to refuse, how many who support social media companies banning people for different reasons using the argument they re private companies also support ashers bakery right to refuse ?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2023978/gareth-lee-v-ashers-baking-company-what-is-the-gay-cake-row-case-update/

Christy42 · 16-08-2018 06:46AM

The Legend Of Kira wrote: »

The argument its private company/ private business etc I won,t be hypothetical but I will use a real life example, the ashers bakery case over the refusal to bake the cake, some might say & make the same argument they re a private company they have a right to refuse, how many who support social media companies banning people for different reasons using the argument they re private companies also support ashers bakery right to refuse ?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2023978/gareth-lee-v-ashers-baking-company-what-is-the-gay-cake-row-case-update/

Is conspiracy theorist a protected minority these days? Or is it supplement salesmen?

Captain Obvious · 16-08-2018 10:15AM

The Legend Of Kira wrote: »

The argument its private company/ private business etc I won,t be hypothetical but I will use a real life example, the ashers bakery case over the refusal to bake the cake, some might say & make the same argument they re a private company they have a right to refuse, how many who support social media companies banning people for different reasons using the argument they re private companies also support ashers bakery right to refuse ?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2023978/gareth-lee-v-ashers-baking-company-what-is-the-gay-cake-row-case-update/

That's why equality laws specify the grounds upon which discrimination is not allowed. These tend to be things you have no choice over. Alex Jones chooses to be and do what he was banned for.

Billy86 · 16-08-2018 02:38PM

The hits keep on coming, this truly is glorious.

FCC shuts down Alex Jones’ pirate flagship radio station

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission has shut down a pirate radio station that served as the flagship outlet for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

The Austin American-Statesman reports the FCC also has fined the station’s operators $15,000 — a fine the FCC says in a lawsuit the operators are refusing to pay.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Austin alleges Liberty Radio operated on a channel without a license since at least 2013. The lawsuit names as defendants Walter Olenick and M. Rae Nadler-Olenick.

I mean all the same I'm sure they'll raise enough to pay the fine on Patreon but it's sti--- oh f*ck wait a minute.

Cienciano · 16-08-2018 03:39PM

The only bad thing about this is Alex Jones got as big as he did. He should have been kicked off these platforms years ago.

Ipso · 16-08-2018 05:28PM

Cienciano wrote: »

The only bad thing about this is Alex Jones got as big as he did. He should have been kicked off these platforms years ago.

Yes, but this will make him more popular, turn him into a martyr and feed into the persecution complex feedback loop for his oxygen deprived at birth followers.
What really needs to happen is to have a series of defamation lawsuits (a couple items he done recently seemed to imply Mueller or Comey, or someone similar, rape children) where he is reduced to absolutely nothing.
I don't think it's just an act, the man has some serious issues but he is surrounded by other supposed adults that should be able to advise him.

ohnonotgmail · 16-08-2018 05:30PM

Ipso wrote: »

Yes, but this will make him more popular, turn him into a martyr and feed into the persecution complex feedback loop for his oxygen deprived at birth followers.
What really needs to happen is to have a series of defamation lawsuits (a couple items he done recently seemed to imply Mueller or Comey, or someone similar, rape children) where he is reduced to absolutely nothing.
I don't think it's just an act, the man has some serious issues but he is surrounded by other supposed adults that should be able to advise him.

He does what he does for money. Cutting off his income is the right way to stop him.

Ipso · 16-08-2018 05:32PM

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

He does what he does for money. Cutting off his income is the right way to stop him.

Yeah, but his followers will still find a way to support him financially.
You can't reason those people out of something they haven't been reasoned into.
I really hope he is taken to the cleaners in a lawsuit and ends up in a ditch.

Call Me Jimmy · 16-08-2018 05:54PM

Ipso wrote: »

I really hope he is taken to the cleaners in a lawsuit and ends up in a ditch.

That is what I wish most people would be in favour of. Especially since it's underway already. Instead people are cheering Mastercard on in another instance for cutting someone off who hasn't committed a crime or even been found to be breaking Patreon's terms of service.

Dohnjoe · 16-08-2018 06:51PM

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

cutting someone off who hasn't committed a crime or even been found to be breaking Patreon's terms of service.

Mastercard can pull the plug

"“Mastercard has a stricter set of rules and regulations than Patreon, and they reserve the right to not offer their services to accounts of their choosing,” she said. “This is in line with their terms of service, which means it’s something we have to comply by.”
https://www.wnd.com/2018/08/mastercard-orders-critic-of-jihad-dropped/ (garbage website, but few sources on this)

Billy86 · 17-08-2018 01:35AM

Twitter still giving with the kiddie gloves treatment, but a one week ban given. Twitter being perhaps the most cowardly of all of the social media platforms will however ban him when the others' are put into full effect, so still nice to see.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/8/15/17692428/twitter-suspends-alex-jones-infowars

After a week of backlash, Twitter has finally suspended the two accounts maintained by far-right conspiracy theorist and Infowars personality Alex Jones — but only for a week.

Twitter first suspended Jones’s personal account after he tweeted a video on Tuesday, August 14 in which he called for his followers to ready their “battle rifles” to act against a wide array of opponents, including the mainstream media — a clear violation of Twitter’s content policy against speech or groups that “use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes.”

It's nice to see people calling for terrorism get their platforms taken away, with this being the second time this month he has done so (the other being saying he was going to shoot the guy investigating Trump). It's been a nice week, all in all.

The Legend Of Kira · 17-08-2018 03:55AM

Christy42 wrote: »

Is conspiracy theorist a protected minority these days? Or is it supplement salesmen?

Im not just referring to all the stuff about Alex Jones but what has happened to Robert Spencer being banned from Patreon, people using the private business argument I wanted to see how consistent they are with that argument.

The Legend Of Kira · 17-08-2018 04:00AM

Regarding Alex Jones being suspended from twitter for a week, after he posted that video about " get your battle riffles " . If someone posts something as incitement to violence Its understandable to remove such posts, someone expressing his/her opinion on something should be allowed, but draw the line at incitement to violence .

The Legend Of Kira · 17-08-2018 04:08AM

The occupy London page has being removed by facebook.

https://twitter.com/OccupyLondon/status/1030194410334633985

Please note Im neutral on the Israel/Palestine issue & I wasn,t a follower of the occupy London facebook page- that said I disagree with it being taken by facebook as I support free speech in the context of in the context of freedom of opinion/right to hold opinions & right to express opinions including the right to express political beliefs .

Dohnjoe · 17-08-2018 12:59PM

The Legend Of Kira wrote: »

The occupy London page has being removed by facebook.

https://twitter.com/OccupyLondon/status/1030194410334633985

Please note Im neutral on the Israel/Palestine issue & I wasn,t a follower of the occupy London facebook page- that said I disagree with it being taken by facebook as I support free speech in the context of in the context of freedom of opinion/right to hold opinions & right to express opinions including the right to express political beliefs .

And what is the backstory, did they violate FB ToS? If they have, then they can be blocked/removed at the discretion of FB