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Facebook, YouTube Ban Alex Jones, Infowars Over Hate Speech

Conspiracy theoriest Alex Jones had amassed millions of followers on both platforms. However, Facebook and YouTube, along with Apple and Spotify, have pulled the content for violating their policies on hate speech.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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Facebook, YouTube, and Apple have banned Alex Jones and his conspiracy theory site Infowars from their platforms over hate speech.

On Monday, Facebook and YouTube pulled down content from Jones, who had amassed 1.6 million and 2.4 million followers on the platforms, respectively, while Apple pulled five of six podcasts for Infowars from iTunes and the Podcast app.

According to Facebook, the takedown has nothing to do with Jones spreading false news, but for posting content that glorified violence and used dehumanizing language to describe transgender people, Muslims, and immigrants. "All four Pages have been unpublished for repeated violations of Community Standards and accumulating too many strikes," the company said in a blog post.

Last week, the company removed four videos on four Jones- and Infowars-related Facebook pages for violating its hate speech and bullying policies. But on Monday, the tech giant proceeded with a full ban on those pages after discovering Jones was circulating more content that contained hate speech.

Alex Jones YouTube

Google, which owns YouTube, also indicated that Jones had repeatedly violated the company's policies on hate speech and harassment, forcing it to pull The Alex Jones Channel from the streaming site.

"All users agree to comply with our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines when they sign up to use YouTube. When users violate these policies repeatedly, like our policies against hate speech and harassment or our terms prohibiting circumvention of our enforcement measures, we terminate their accounts," a spokesperson said.

In a statement to BuzzFeed, Apple said it "does not tolerate hate speech." On Monday, Spotify also told PCMag it had banned Alex Jones from the platform over repeated violations relating to hate speech.

In response, Jones tweeted on Monday that he's considering filing a lawsuit against the companies over the alleged censorship. "What conservative news outlet will be next?"

Jones is verified on Twitter, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether Jones has violated any of the site's policies.

On its website, where Jones is still free to broadcast, Infowars claims the tech industry is out to censor conservative content from the web. "Infowars is widely credited with having played a key role in electing Donald Trump. By banning Infowars, big tech is engaging in election meddling just three months before crucial mid-terms," it said.

None of the companies specified which content actually led to the crackdown. But Infowars and Jones have long peddled conspiracy theories, including that the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012 was a hoax. The parents of those children have sued Jones. Last month, Jones also posted a video accusing special counsel and former FBI Director Robert Mueller of covering up pedophilia crimes. In that same video, he also pretends to shoot Mueller with his finger.

The controversial nature of Infowars prompted journalists and the public to question why Facebook and YouTube allowed the site's content onto their platforms as both companies fight fake news and abuse. Last month, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg attempted to defend permitting Infowars on his site, claiming he was protecting free speech, but his comments simply stoked more controversy. The mounting pressure appears to have forced the whole tech industry to act.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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