Apple Inc, YouTube, Facebook Inc and Spotify all took down podcasts and channels from US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, saying on Monday that the Infowars author had broken community standards.
The sweeping moves are the broadest actions yet by internet companies that have suspended or removed some of the conspiracy-driven content.
Since founding Infowars in 1999, Jones has built a vast audience. Among the theories he has promoted is that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington were staged by the government.
Facebook said it removed the pages “for glorifying violence, which violates our graphic violence policy, and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies.”
Infowars editor-at-large Paul Joseph Watson said in a tweet that the broad take-downs amounted to censorship and were intended to help Democrats in the national election this fall.
“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,” Watson wrote on the Infowars Web site.
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