Target: Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube
Goal: Praise the online removal of a provocateur conspiracy theorist who targets innocent citizens.
His inflammatory comments have allegedly led to bullying and harassment of individuals ranging from pizza store employees to grieving parents. Many of those parents recently united to sue him for spreading malicious claims about their dead children. The explosively controversial Alex Jones and his conspiracy-filled Infowars platform have been denounced by citizens across America, including those in this ForceChange petition. Now, several online leaders have united in denouncing this man’s damaging hate speech and instigation of harmful harassment.
Apple kicked off an eventful Monday by abolishing episodes of Jones’s inflammatory podcast from its service. A short time later, Facebook announced it would remove four of the controversial figure’s pages that the company claims violates its hate speech guidelines. Pinterest followed suit. However, perhaps the most significant online rebuttal came when YouTube removed the channel for Jones’ Infowars from its site: a channel filled with videos promoting fringe theories, from a U.S. government-sponsored September 11 terrorist attack conspiracy to a claim that a well-known yogurt manufacturer was helping funnel immigrant sex offenders into the country.
Some of Jones’s most hurtful and incendiary claims have centered around school shootings: events he pronounces as essentially massive stage plays filled with ‘crisis actors.’ These claims in particular have led to widespread harassment of shooting victims and their families. Parents of the 20 elementary school children killed in Sandy Hook have even claimed that they were forced to move to other towns—away from their children’s final resting places—after Jones published directions to their homes.
Sign this petition to support franchises willing to risk a loss of revenue to take a stand against hate and harassment under the ‘flag’ of freedom of speech.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Ms. Wojcicki,
From all the grieving parents and all of the outraged citizens of the United States, thank you for taking decisive action against a man accused of sexual harassment, defamation, and the pervasive dissemination of hate and true ‘fake news.’
You gave Alex Jones and his destructive brand three chances, and he continued to post hateful, provocative videos for a worldwide audience that encouraged harassment of high school students who have already been through too much. Mr. Jones is the very embodiment of your policy against malicious harassment and bullying. Further, the completely unfounded fringe theories propagated by Infowars creates a poisonous environment that only encourages more malicious action and disinformation.
While Mr. Jones and his 2.7 million subscribers may take issue, please know that your actions have sent a positive, resonant message to American citizens and citizens of the world.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Sean P. Anderson
Wow! This is successful when Alex Jones has been removed from these franchises for good. Now he’s off our platforms. But something else must be further.
how about banning cyberbullies now! how about banning porn!