Apple scraps podcasts of U.S. conspiracy theorist's Alex Jones from iTunes
Mon Aug 06, 2018 11:37:am Technology
4.6K By Obiaks Blog
Apple has removed hundreds of podcasts by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his InfoWars brand from its iTunes and Podcasts apps.
Five of the six InfoWars-related shows are no longer available on iTunes, with all episodes removed.
Apple said in a statement that it "does not tolerate hate speech".
Several episodes of Mr Jones' show were also removed from Spotify on Thursday for violating the music app's "hate content policy".
Mr Jones has been widely criticised for repeating conspiracy theories that the 9/11 attacks in New York were staged by the US government.
He has also claimed that many of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre were actors. The parents of two children shot in that attack are suing him for defamation, saying he had made "false, cruel, and dangerous assertions".
While Apple did not host the InfoWars podcasts on its own servers, its iTunes and Podcasts apps made the programmes easily accessible to millions of people.
It no longer links to series such as The Alex Jones Podcast and War Room in its apps. However, the Real News series remains on iTunes.
In a statement, Apple told Buzzfeed News: "We have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our users.
"We believe in representing a wide range of views, so long as people are respectful to those with differing opinions."
Several other apps and social media platforms have also taken action against InfoWars content.
In July, YouTube removed four videos from Mr Jones' channel, which has more than 2.4 million followers.
In the deleted videos, Mr Jones criticised Muslim immigrants to Europe and also denounced a transgender cartoon.
YouTube said it had "long-standing policies against child endangerment and hate speech" but InfoWars claimed the the videos had been deleted because they were "critical of liberalism".
Facebook has also suspended Mr Jones' personal account for 30 days after he posted content that the firm said was against its "community standards", although his public page continues to post updates.
BBC
Five of the six InfoWars-related shows are no longer available on iTunes, with all episodes removed.
Apple said in a statement that it "does not tolerate hate speech".
Several episodes of Mr Jones' show were also removed from Spotify on Thursday for violating the music app's "hate content policy".
Mr Jones has been widely criticised for repeating conspiracy theories that the 9/11 attacks in New York were staged by the US government.
He has also claimed that many of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre were actors. The parents of two children shot in that attack are suing him for defamation, saying he had made "false, cruel, and dangerous assertions".
While Apple did not host the InfoWars podcasts on its own servers, its iTunes and Podcasts apps made the programmes easily accessible to millions of people.
It no longer links to series such as The Alex Jones Podcast and War Room in its apps. However, the Real News series remains on iTunes.
In a statement, Apple told Buzzfeed News: "We have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our users.
"We believe in representing a wide range of views, so long as people are respectful to those with differing opinions."
Several other apps and social media platforms have also taken action against InfoWars content.
In July, YouTube removed four videos from Mr Jones' channel, which has more than 2.4 million followers.
In the deleted videos, Mr Jones criticised Muslim immigrants to Europe and also denounced a transgender cartoon.
YouTube said it had "long-standing policies against child endangerment and hate speech" but InfoWars claimed the the videos had been deleted because they were "critical of liberalism".
Facebook has also suspended Mr Jones' personal account for 30 days after he posted content that the firm said was against its "community standards", although his public page continues to post updates.
BBC
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