Jones to pay many millions...

[WillBrink]

I'm conflicted: I have zero empathy for Jones, but Free Speech includes protection for those you consider a POS for a human. I do think if anyone pushed it beyond the boundaries of acceptable (can't yell fire in a theater under Free Speech, etc) it's him, but fine line there. Such cases do have the potential to suppress Free Speech, and that's all that worries me here.

First time I was really aware of Jones when was he claimed there was Martial Law in Boston during the Boston bombings, which was total BS. Someone who worked for him went the neighborhood, Watertown (a town over from me at the time) and right after the event started asking moronic Qs, and there was a great vid (wish I could find it!) of someone telling dude he'd best STFU or he'd get is a$$ kicked. I had buddies in the middle of that, including right at the end at the boat, have knowledge of that one more than most, other then those that were right in the middle of it.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

There are so many real and need to be exposed screw ups around mass shootings, why do you need to make stuff up. Never paid attention to the case. Never really liked his style or his show. He was a hammer nailing screws and hit a nail every once In a while. So many other people to listen to. Jones and Zerohedge are on my list of places that seem like they should work, but never seem to pan out all the way.

[okie]

Something tells me he can afford it, and I imagine he thinks it's money well spent for the opportunity to make that Epstein quote on record. That was truly excellent!

I really don't know what to think about the verdict. I mean, they accused the families of lying, so the claims have a lot of substance. The fact that he's a personality who makes loads of money from talking about conspiracy theories also pretty well solidifies the fact that he did in fact profit from slandering them.

The only thing that seems to fall short is the requirement that the person doing the slandering had done it intentionally. For example, to cite a case everyone here knows well, Ventura won against Kyle because Kyle obviously knew he was telling a lie. Had Kyle simply been repeating a story he had been told, that he believed to be true, it wouldn't have been slander. I.e. "gossip" and "fake news" aren't slander.

But Jones is a reasonably sophisticated person with decades of experience as a broadcast journalist, so you could easily argue that he was negligent. I.e. he "should have known better." But there's also the assumption amongst the general public that Jones is unhinged and 100% believes the stuff he says.

I could also see Jones having fallen into a sort of psychosis where he can no longer distinguish what's real and what's not. I think a lot of people into conspiracy theories are in that place. The level of insanity in terms of what's turned out to be factual is so high, that an informed person like Jones could honestly be forgiven for no longer being able to intuitively know what's possible and what's stark raving BS. I mean, over his career, he's been vindicated on several counts that were, at the time, so unbelievable that any rational person would have classified them as stark raving BS. Once you find yourself living in a world where your industry, media, and political figures are all worshipping a giant owl statue and having mock (we hope) human sacrifices, you know, after a while, flat earth stuff might start to sound not so impossible to you.

Another burden I don't think was met, though, and the most important one, is the claim that the families were damaged by Jones. Perhaps they experienced some emotional distress, but reputationally they weren't damaged at all. 99.99% of people out there don't even know about Jones and his ilk or their claims about the Sandy Hook conspiracy. And the ones who do, the vast majority of them only have more sympathy for the families as a result of that awareness. They haven't faced any reputational repercussions as a result of this (like losing a job, being ostracized from their community, etc.).

Also for anyone who doubts the veracity of the event itself, this is a great deep dive into Lanza:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-J5yNtwo7A

The primary argument for the alleged conspiracy is that Lanza didn't exist, and of course you have to ignore a mountain of evidence to arrive at that conclusion. The guy who did that video is a shining example of outstanding journalism, and I highly recommend watching it.

[Coal Dragger]

He’s an ass: he intentionally and knowingly slandered people for profit.

This verdict is justified, it’s just too bad all of the Jones fan boys (I’ll bet there are a bunch of them on here) can’t also be held financially liable.

[flenna]

Same, I really never cared for a lot of what he said but free speech is free speech. Jones is just being made an example of, no different than the 01/06 folks being made an example of.

[WillBrink]

There are so many real and need to be exposed screw ups around mass shootings, why do you need to make stuff up. Never paid attention to the case. Never really liked his style or his show. He was a hammer nailing screws and hit a nail every once In a while. So many other people to listen to. Jones and Zerohedge are on my list of places that seem like they should work, but never seem to pan out all the way.

That's what gets the smoothed brained mouth breathers to follow you. As the man said "nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people." Jone is the poster child for that truth.

He’s an ass: he intentionally and knowingly slandered people for profit.

This verdict is justified, it’s just too bad all of the Jones fan boys (I’ll bet there are a bunch of them on here) can’t also be held financially liable.

His fan base has the IQ of a blender, but I only worry about the potential for such things to suppress Free Speech. I do tend to think in this case, he went over a line. But with such a precedent, could that line shift toward more restrictions on Free Speech? That worries me more than anything.

Same, I really never cared for a lot of what he said but free speech is free speech. Jones is just being made an example of, no different than the 01/06 folks being made an example of.

Apples to oranges really I think. Jones went way over the line as did CNN calling that kid a racist white nationalist and having to pay out. What Jones did another level.

[SteyrAUG]

He’s an ass: he intentionally and knowingly slandered people for profit.

This verdict is justified, it’s just too bad all of the Jones fan boys (I’ll bet there are a bunch of them on here) can’t also be held financially liable.

Mostly agree.

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

I'm shocked there arent an army of Alex Jones fans here, crying about this verdict.

[BVickery]

One aspect is this is an attack on the 1st Amendment. This will set precedence. Remember, it's very easy to attack and not mind an attack on someone you don't like. First it will be Alex, then who next? Mark Levin? Steve Crowder? Shapiro? It's going to slowly get there and is a shame.

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Jones is a loudmouth with a microphone who found an audience for conspiracy kook nonsense. He got called on his bs in a lawsuit. 1A is not a hold harmless from defamation and other civil liabilities. I saw a short vid clip of Jones in court recanting his bs about Sandy Hook being a hoax, and that now he knows it was "100% real". No doubt quite a letdown to his devout followers.