Despite being “permanently suspended” by Twitter on Thursday, Alex Jones was back live streaming on the company’s Periscope platform only minutes after the company’s announced ban due to “abusive behavior.”
“I was taken down not because we lie but because we tell the truth,” Jones said while streaming on “War Room,” an InfoWars show. The “War Room” Twitter account has about 26,000 followers.
Twitter is “trying to destroy our basic birthright” of free speech, Jones added. “This is why we were banned: they’re scared of us.”
Twitter on Thursday joined several tech giants, including YouTube and Facebook, in banning Jones. The company said Jones and his InfoWars website were removed, and it would “take action” if he attempted to return to the platform or Periscope, its live streaming platform.
“We are suspending @realalexjones and @infowars, and banning Alex Jones as an individual,” A Twitter spokesperson told TheWrap. “Also, we are assessing other linked accounts on a case-by-case basis. If tweets and videos that violate our rules are reported, or accounts are utilized as a way to get around the ban, they will be actioned.”
A video of Jones badgering CNN’s Oliver Darcy on Wednesday was the driving force behind his ban, according to The Daily Beast. “Those are the eyes of a rat,” Jones said to Darcy, after accusing Darcy and CNN of working to silence his voice on major platforms. Jones — on hand in Washington, D.C. for Twitter chief Jack Dorsey’s testimony to Congress — also went viral for blasting Sen. Marco Rubio as a “frat boy” and a “snake” on Wednesday.
Jones doubled down on his criticism on his Thursday live stream, calling Darcy a “horrible little creature” and “sociopath.” Jones also accused Twitter and “deep state actors” of shadow banning “everyone I know,” including his neighbors, churches, and gun stores. Dorsey pushed back on claims the company shadow bans conservatives on Wednesday, telling Congress the company’s decisions aren’t driven by “politically ideology.”
Jones’ Twitter dismissal wipes away about 1.5 million followers. The online shock jock — well known for peddling conspiracy theories, including the Sandy Hook school shooting being a “hoax” — has already seen his traffic massively reduced in the last month.
Following his removal from several tech giants, including Facebook and Google-owned YouTube, InfoWars received about 715,000 daily visitors in August, about half as much traffic as it averaged the month prior.
His “War Room” live stream featured several ads for his supplements on Thursday. “Thank God for the audience, and I don’t need to tell you we need it now more than ever,” Owen Shroyer, “War Room” host, added.