Conspiracy theories have roots deep in history. As Alex Jones proved, there's a lot of money to be made in spreading them, no matter how outlandish.
NEW YORK — A Connecticut jury's ruling this week ordering Alex Jones to pay $965 million to parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims he maligned was heartening for people disgusted by the muck of disinformation.The appetite for such hokum and narrowness of the judgments against Jones, who falsely claimed that the 2012 elementary school shootings were a hoax and that grieving parents were actors, virtually ensure a ready supply, experts say.
In today's media world, Jones found that there's a lot of money to be made — and quickly — in creating a community willing to believe lies, no matter how outlandish. "This will not impact the flow of stories that are filled with bad faith and extreme opinion," said Howard Polskin, who publishes The Righting, a newsletter that monitors the content of right-wing websites. He says false stories about the 2020 election and COVID-19 vaccines remain particularly popular.
The case is reminiscent of Seth Rich, a young Democratic Party aide killed in a Washington robbery in 2016, she said. Rich's name was dragged — posthumously — into political conspiracy theories, and his parents later sued and reached a settlement with Fox News Channel.Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | Omny Studio "Spreading conspiracy theories about the Biden administration is not going to get Fox News Channel sued," Hemmer said.
Fox has defended itself vigorously. It says that rather than spreading falsehoods, it was reporting on newsworthy claims being made by the president of the United States.
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