Conspiracy theories are mother’s milk to InfoWars, which is why YouTube removed one of its videos this week. That’s also why the far-right site accused CNN of “turning to censorship” by lobbying the video platform to suspend InfoWars.
InfoWars’ incorrect and manipulative post, which editor Paul Joseph Watson wrote today, is yet another example of the far-right media doubling down on a conspiracy theory and attacking news organizations they view as a threat.
Here’s what actually happened: Yesterday, CNN published a report demonstrating how a hoax regarding survivors of the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida likely developed and swept through the Internet – eventually landing on InfoWars. This conspiracy theory, which bounced from Twitter and 4chan to far-right sites, involves student and shooting survivor David Hogg, who was falsely described as a “crisis actor.” The hoax evolved to contest that Hogg attends Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where the shooting took place.
Conspiracy theorists take the term “crisis actor” to mean a person paid to play the role of a witness during staged events, including mass shootings.
InfoWars founder Alex Jones previously mounted the conspiracy theory that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting was faked. When it comes to Parkland, Jones conceded that the shooting was real, but he labeled the shooting a “false flag,” or a government operation aimed to manipulate the public. In this departure from reality, Jones also called Hogg and other students “crisis actors.”
Naturally, InfoWars created content to go with its far-fetched theories, posting multiple videos identifying Hogg and other students as so-called crisis actors. On Wednesday, YouTube removed one of these videos, which suggested Hogg was fed lines for an interview.
According to its article, CNN found three additional InfoWars videos that were similar in nature to the video that was taken down, so the news organization asked YouTube if they also violated the company’s policies. Watson, the InfoWars editor, mischaracterized this act of reporting as CNN bringing the videos “to YouTube’s attention for potential removal.”
In response to CNN’s question, a YouTube spokesperson said the company flagged the videos for review to determine if they violate the platform’s policies. Again, Watson mischaracterized what happened, writing that CNN, not YouTube, had flagged the videos, and he further falsely claimed that the network had done so with the motive of shutting down the InfoWars channel.
Watson backed up this misinformation with an excerpt from the network’s article that goes over the video platform’s “three strikes” policy. Under that rule, if YouTube’s content creators violate the community guidelines three times in three months, they’re banned.
CNN explained the “three strikes” rule, then noted that InfoWars had one “strike” due to its video on Hogg that was removed Wednesday. Watson falsely described that reporting as CNN “actively lobbying for a third party hosting platform to censor and shut down another news organization simply for offering a different perspective.”
According to CNN, YouTube could suspend InfoWars from posting new videos for two weeks if the media organization receives a second “strike” during the next three months.
Contact Mollie Bryant at 405-990-0988 or bryant@bigiftrue.org. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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