Fans of Infowars radio host Alex Jones have flocked to the Apple App Store to grab what’s left of his voice on social media.
The iOS app Infowars Official was ranked the fourth most popular news app earlier today, less than 48 hours after Apple and other tech companies booted Jones off its social media platforms.
Apple removed five of Jones’ six Infowars podcasts from the Podcasts app Sunday night. Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify all pulled content the next day. The Alex Jones Channel on YouTube had more than 2.5 million subscribers.
Jones’ fans with Android devices also scrambled to download the app, which was ranked 11th today in the Google Play Store.
Infowars app and Alex Jones
Jones uses social media and other channels to push conspiracies that fire up fringe conservatives. Earlier this year, Jones told fans of a plot by Democrats to start a civil war. Jones also called the school shooting at Sandy Hook a government-backed hoax and several parents who lost children in the shooting are suing him.
As companies give Jones the boot, he likens events to the assault on the Alamo and a war on free speech. He believes “corporate media” is trying to silence him because of his support of President Donald Trump.
But the app downloads today suggest neither he nor his legion of “patriots” as he calls them is going away.
The iOS app, as reported by tech news site The Verge, was getting several five-star reviews with comments calling the tech companies “corrupt” and treasonous” and battle cries like “Infowars WILL NOT be silenced.”
The app launched in June and users can stream live shows and read stories from his Infowars website, where he also sells merchandise, including t-shirts, books, supplements and survivalist gear.
In a statement to Buzzfeed earlier this week, Apple pulled Jones from its platforms because it “does not tolerate hate speech, and we have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our users.
“We believe in representing a wide range of views, so long as people are respectful to those with different opinions.”
The terms for podcasts and apps vary in language, but Apple has not said why it hasn’t pulled Infowars Official from the App Store.
Source: The Verge
