Alex Jones Hit With $45 Million Ruling In Damages For Sandy Hook Lies. By Sebastian Murdock.
A jury ruled Friday that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay $45.2 million to the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting after spending years spreading lies that the shooting didn’t happen.
Jurors deliberated for less than a day before coming to its first decision Thursday that Jones must pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages. On Friday, jurors again deliberated for less than a day when deciding further punitive damages against Jones of more than $40 million. …
For years, Jones and his outlet have claimed the shooting was fake, leading to harassment of the families from listeners of his show. …
InfoWars makes big money:
Jones’ two-week trial has helped peel back the curtain on Infowars’ ethically bankrupt operation and offered a greater glimpse into the profits Jones and his web outlet have reaped while spreading lies about the shooting. On Wednesday, Jones was confronted on the stand with earnings that the Infowars store ― which sells non-FDA-approved supplements along with survival gear ― has made over the years.
On one particularly profitable day, for instance, the store made $800,000. Jones did not dispute the number but complained that lawyers for the plaintiffs were “cherry-picking” his most lucrative days.
HuffPost first reported earlier this year that Jones’ store sold $165 million in products from 2015 to 2018.
Jones was also recently given $8 million in an anonymous Bitcoin donation. When asked about the donation, Jones told HuffPost outside of court last week that he had already spent it. …
Truth is less profitable than concocted conspiracy theories:
The trial saw other dramatic moments including a deposition from a former Infowars employee who said he begged staff to stop spreading lies about Sandy Hook, only to be laughed at. And Infowars sidekick Owen Shroyer admitted on the stand that he did nothing to fact-check the accuracy of a bogus story claiming Heslin did not hold his dead child.
Riling people up for fun and profit, but so careless with the truth.
UPDATE: Reader Stanley writes:
Alex Jones betrays good people (see “Alex Jones is a traitorous Viper”). Alex Jones betrayed one of his biggest fans, Brian D. Hill who ran a political blog and was sued by Righthaven LLC in 2011. Alex Jones settled with Righthaven LLC while Brian fought and won.
Alex Jones wants to look good for lying, for turning his back on those who follow Alex’s advice “go to your city council”. Brian did that and became a target. Alex ran away and refused to cover Brian’s story.
Alex Jones is a traitor to his own fans and supporters. He betrayed Jakari Jackson, Millie Weaver, Aaron Dykes, Melissa Melton, Luke Rudkowski, David Knight, Stewart Rhodes.
There are some pretty strong feelings about Alex Jones out there, both for and against. If he was less extreme and more truthful he’d be less popular and make less money, but he’d be more respected and credible, and — probably — more effective.
