Infowars founder exposes online censoring campaign by Facebook, Google, Apple
Infowars founder Alex Jones crashed the Senate Intelligence hearing on Wednesday in his trademark style.
The US House is holding a hearing on foreign influence on online platforms, and how tech companies are censoring conservative voices.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is testifying in the Senate alongside Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.
As part of an apparently coordinated attack, in August, Facebook, Apple, Google-YouTube, and Spotify simultaneously shut down Alex Jones and Infowars from their platforms.
Jones wasn’t called to the hearing to testify, which he says is stopping him from answering his accusers.
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Lol Alex Jones at the Senate https://t.co/FmkmQvGpFz
— Will Chamberlain 🇺🇸 (@willchamberlain) September 5, 2018
After speaking to the press, Jones approached Sen. Marco Rubio outside the hearing in which the Florida Republican senator had just ridiculed Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and other tech companies for working with “authoritarian” governments like China and Turkey to censor dissenting voices.
Rubio initially appeared to recognize the Infowars host, who was recently banned from nearly every social media platform except Twitter, before Jones began interrupting Rubio’s interview with other reporters.
The exchange escalated until the senator told Jones “get your hand off me, don’t touch me… I’ll take you out myself, I don’t need security.”
Continuing his live stream outside the tech hearing Wednesday, Jones accused Democrats and Silicon Valley companies of censoring conservative voices in the U.S.
“The Republicans are acting like this isn’t happening,” Jones said.
“Thank God Trump is….that’s why you didn’t get elected, you’re a snake boy, look at you.
“You are literally like a little gangster thug…Rubio threatened to hit me did you hear that?” Jones also called Rubio a “frat boy.”
“I just don’t know who you are,” Rubio responded.
“Don’t touch me, I don’t know who you are,” Rubio said, physically stepping away from Jones.
As Rubio wrapped up his interview with other reporters, he laughed and said, “you guys can talk to this clown.”
Watch what happened at 5:42 in @RealAlexJones‘s broadcast: Alex Press Conference LIVE https://t.co/NAoC45appF
— Nancy (@Nancykatydid) September 5, 2018
According to CNBC, Twitter shares were down as much as 6 percent Wednesday during CEO Jack Dorsey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
Dorsey is testifying alongside Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about election meddling and abuse on their platforms.
Google was also invited to testify, but the tech giant declined to send its CEO or parent company Alphabet’s CEO.
Twitter’s stock fell 1 percent Wednesday before the committee hearing began ahead of Dorsey’s testimony.
Other tech stocks were also down on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans have accused Twitter, Facebook, and Google of political bias in recent months, with frustrations intensifying in recent weeks.
Trump last week said social platforms are “treading on very, very troubled territory and they have to be careful.”