UNDOUBTEDLY CHANGED THE MOOD INSIDE BOARD ROOMS AND
CALCULATIONS CEOs AND THEIR
COMMUNICATORS HAVE TO MAKE.
>> WILLIE, SPEAKING OF COMPANIES
HAVING TO STEP UP, IT DOES SEEM
SOME LARGE TECH COMPANIES HAVE
STEPPED UP AGAINST INFOWARS, AND
A HOST THAT NOT ONLY HAS MADE
THE LIFE OF PARENTS WHOSE
CHILDREN WERE SLAUGHTERED AT
SANDY HOOK BACK IN DECEMBER OF
2012, MADE THEIR LIVES A LIVING
HELL, WITH MANY HAVING TO MOVE
FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, AND
GETTING THREATS AGAINST THEIR
OWN LIVES BECAUSE OF LIES THAT
HE’S SPREADING ABOUT THEM, BUT
ALSO LAST WEEK SHOCKINGLY
ENOUGH, MAYBE IT WAS TWO WEEKS
AGO, ACCUSING ROBERT MUELLER OF
RUNNING A CHILD PROSTITUTION
RING AND THEN HOLDING UP HIS
FINGER LIKE IT’S A GUN, AND
SIMULATING THE SHOOTING OF
ROBERT MUELLER AND MANY PEOPLE
LOOKING AT THAT WOULD SUGGEST
THAT HE ACTUALLY ENCOURAGED IT.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF PRESSURE
ON THESE MEDIA COMPANIES.
TALKED ABOUT IT A LOT LAST WEEK,
JOE, ON THIS SHOW.
NOW FOUR MEDIA GIANTS ARE
BANDING TOGETHER TO TAKE DOWN
CONTROVERSIAL INFOWARS CONTENT
FROM THE THEIR SITES.
APPLE, FACEBOOK, SPOTIFY AND
YOUTUBE ALL REMOVED INFOWARS AND
ITS CREATOR’S CONTENT FROM
PLATFORMS IN VARIOUS DEGREES.
ALL IN AN EFFORT TO STOP THE
SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION.
ALEX JONES HAS BEEN BEHIND
SEVERAL RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY
THEORIES LIKE CLAIMING THE SANDY
ROOK SHOOTING WAS A HOAX.
A FOLLOWING GARNERING MILLIONS
OF SUBSCRIBERS.
OF SUBSCRIBERS. APPLE MOVED SUNDAY TO REMOVE ITS
PODCAST FROM ITS PLATFORM,
SPOTIFY FOLLOWING SUIT.
FACEBOOK ANNOUNCED UNPUBLISHED
FOR REPEATEDLY VIOLATING COMPANY
STANDARDS, YOUTUBE FOLLOWED
SUIT.
SUIT. JONES CONFIRM AND TWITTER HE’D
BEEN BANNED BY FACEBOOK, APPLE
AND SPOTIFY.
AND SPOTIFY. TWITTER HAS NOT TAKEN ANY ACTION
AGAINST INFOWARS OR JONES
HIMSELF.
HIMSELF. GENE ROBINSON, THIS IS A GUY
THAT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, PEOPLE
ARE FAMILIAR WITH HIM.
HE’S DRIVEN SANDY HOOK FAMILIES
INTO HIDING FANS CONSPIRACY
THEORIES AND HAVING HIS FOLLOWER
FOLLOWERS GO AFTER THESE
FAMILIES.
FAMILIES. FACEBOOK DOESN’T HAVE TO ABIDE
BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT.
IT’S A PRIVATE COMPANIES.
>> THESE PRIVATE COMPANIES HAD A
DECISION TO MAKE AND I WONDER
WHY IT TOOK SO LONG, BECAUSE TO
CONTINUE TO PUT UP THIS KIND OF
CONTENT, JUST INVITES PEOPLE,
PERHAPS LIKE ME, TO SAY, HOLD
ON.
ON. THESE ARE PUBLISHERS AND
PUBLISHING MATERIAL THAT IS
FALSE AND DEFAMATORY, AND THEY
OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO BE SUED JUST
LIKE THE "WASHINGTON POST" COULD
BE SUED, AND OTHERS CAN BE SUED
FOR LIBEL AND IN THEIR CASE
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF
DAMAGES.
DAMAGES. SO I THINK IT WAS A, NOT JUST A
MORALLY CORRECT MOVE BY THESE
COMPANIES, BUT ALSO A SMART
BUSINESS MOVE TO SORT OF FEND
OFF WHAT WOULD BE THE NEXT STEP,
I THINK, WHICH WOULD BE TO, YOU
KNOW, LOOK, GUYS.
WE’RE GOING TO SUE YOU.
>> AND YOU KNOW, ELISE JORDAN,
THAT SOMEBODY LIKE TED CRUZ
WOULD COME OUT DEFENDING ALEX
JONES, SAYING -- REALLY
REPULSIVE, YOU KNOW, QUOTING THE
FIRST LINE OF A POEM, TALKING
ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST AND FIRST
THEY CAME FOR ALEX JONES, I
DON’T KNOW.
DON’T KNOW. TED CRUZ, IS HE FAMILIAR WITH
THE CONTENT IN INFOWARS?
I WOULD THINK MOST OF THE PEOPLE
HE SITS IN CHURCH WITH WOULD BE
DEEPLY OFFENDED.
DEEPLY OFFENDED. THE CONTENT IS EXTRAORDINARILY
VULGAR.
VULGAR. HIS LANGUAGE, BEYOND REPULSIVE,
AND, AGAIN, THE CONSPIRACY
THEORIES.
THEORIES. AND THE SUGGESTION THAT FORMER
FBI DIRECTORS BE ASSASSINATED, I
MEAN, EVERY DAY HE’S -- IT’S A
NEW SHOCKING ATTACK AGAINST SOME
FOUNDATION OF OUR CULTURE, OF
OUR CIVILIZATION, AND TED CRUZ
IS GOING OUT THERE COMPARING
THAT TO PEOPLE THAT WERE SENT
AWAY IN THE HOLOCAUST?
>> YOU GOT GIVE IT TO TED CRUZ,
JUST BECAUSE HE DOES TAKE
PANDERING TO NEW LOWS.
WHETHER IT’S HIS OWN WIFE.
HIS OWN FATHER.
HE WAS SO QUICK TO, YOU KNOW,
COWER BACK, GROVEL BACK TO
DONALD TRUMP, AND THAT’S THE
SAME THING THAT HE’S DOING WITH
ALEX JONES AND IT’S SO CRAVEN,
SO TRANSPARENT, AND HE CARES
MORE ABOUT THE MILLIONS OF
FOLLOWERS THAT ALEX JONES HAS
AND’S IT SHOWS HIS DESPERATION
WITH HIS UPCOMING SENATE RACE
AND ALSO HIS COMPLETE LACK OF
ANY MORAL COMPASS WHATSOEVER.
>> AND, JOE, YOU TOUCH UPON A
REALLY IMPORTANT POINT THERE.
WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT THERE’S
ONLY SO MUCH SPACE IN A
NEWSPAPER.
NEWSPAPER. WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT THERE’S
ONLY SO MUCH TIME ON A TV
PROGRAM.
PROGRAM. BUT THE MEDIA, IN A SENSE, HAS
DROPPED THE BALL IN TERMS OF
DOING OUR JOB, IN TERMS OF
MAKING MORE AMERICANS AWARE OF
EXACTLY WHAT ALEX JONES AND HIS
FOLLOWERS BELIEVE.
FOLLOWERS BELIEVE. EXACTLY WHAT THEY PUSH AND
BELIEVE.
BELIEVE. THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE
BEYOND THE REALM.
BEYOND BEING OFFENSIVE, THEY’RE
DANGEROUS WEEKEND " OUSOUS AND W
TELLING PEOPLE OUT THERE WHAT
THESE PEOPLE ARE AND WHAT THEY
BELIEVE.
BELIEVE. >> IT’S NOT NEW.
I MEAN, THIS GUY ACTUALLY HAD
THE REPUGNANT VIEW AND PROMOTED
THE REPUGNANT VIEW THAT -- HE
WAS, A TRUTHER.
THAT GEORGE W. BUSH WAS -- IT
WAS AN INSIDE JOB.
YOU KNOW?
YOU KNOW? I WAS READING A "NEW YORK TIMES"
ARTICLE YESTERDAY FROM BACK, YOU
KNOW, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT
YEARS AGO WHERE ALEX JONES AND
ROSIE O’DONNELL AND ALL OF THESE
OTHER PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT
BUILDING SEVEN HAD IMPLODED AND
THAT THE UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT HAD KILLED AMERICANS
ON 9/11.
ON 9/11. THAT IT WAS AN INSIDE JOB.
I MEAN, THAT’S JUST -- THAT’S
SUCH DECEASED THINKING.
IT’S SUCH OFFENSIVE THINKING,
THAT YOU WONDER HOW THOSE PEOPLE
ARE GIVEN A PLATFORM AT ALL.
WHY ANYBODY WOULD LISTEN TO THEM
AT ALL, AND ALEX JONES, MY GOD,
MIKA.
MIKA. IN JUST --
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> -- AGAIN, CALLING -- IT
SEEMED THAT HE WAS CALLING FOR
THE ASSASSINATION OF ROBERT
MUELLER.
MUELLER. THIS SHOULD GO WELL BEYOND HIM
NOT BEING ON APPLE OR YOUTUBE
ANYMORE.
ANYMORE. THIS SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING THAT
THE SECRET SERVICE SHOULD BE
LOOKING INTO WHEN IT SEEMS THAT
HE IS CALLING FOR THE
ASSASSINATION OF A FORMER FBI
DIRECTOR, AND A MAN WHO’S
LEADING AN INVESTIGATION INTO
VLADIMIR PUTIN UNDERMINING
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. I JUST DON’T GET IT.
>> I THINK WE CAN DEBATE IT MORE
AND WE CERTAINLY HAVE HAD THAT
DEBATED.
DEBATED. ESPECIALLY NOW I THINK GIVING
PEOPLE LIKE THAT A PLATFORM IS
DANGEROUS.
DANGEROUS. AND WE ARE WATCHING THINGS
UNRAVEL BEFORE OUR EYES, EVEN
THE VALUE OF THE TRUTH.
JIM VANDEHEI, THANK YOU.
BE SURE TO SIGN UP FOR THE
NEWSLETTER AT SIGNUP.AXIOS.COM.
>>> STILL AHEAD, IN THE PAUL
MANAFORT TRIAL, RICK GATES TAKES
THE STAND AND SHOWS US WHAT CAN
HAPPEN WHEN A WITNESS FLIPS ON A
FORMER COLLEAGUE.
FORMER COLLEAGUE. WE GO LIVE TO THE COURTHOUSE
COMING UP ON "MORNING JOE."