Culture

Alex Jones Challenges A Florida Shooting Survivor To A Debate After The Two Exchange Blows On Twitter

In the above video, InfoWars host Alex Jones challenges David Hogg, one of the more vocal Florida school shooting survivors, to appear on his show for a debate. How this happened, of course, is completely absurd. Jones’ conspiracy-theory-fueling notoriety largely stems from him calling the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre a “false flag” operation staged by the government with the help of paid actors playing grieving parents. So, it’s no real surprise that Jones was at the forefront of the far-right crowd that declared Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors (including Hogg) to be “crisis actors.”

As a result, YouTube ended up pulling a video from the Alex Jones Channel, and the platform’s “three strikes” policy may mean that the account will eventually be shuttered (although, for now, it’s still accessible). Before Jones posted his video challenge, Hogg called him out for being “really confused as to what I do/who I am.” He then labeled Jones a “sh*t journalist” and added, “Didn’t you get sued for pedaling lies about the survivors and victims of another school shooting?”

Jones has been sued multiple times over his harmful theories (this has forced some bizarre apologies), but the lawsuit that Hogg refers to stemmed from Sandy Hook families who attempted to stop NBC from airing Jones’ interview with Megyn Kelly. So, Jones wasn’t actually sued here, but the legal papers accused him of “weaponiz[ing] his radio show to publish false and defamatory statements about our clients.”

Well, Jones is really upset that Hogg has been calling him a “sh*t journalist” and a seller of “snake oil.” He labeled Hogg a defamer for saying he was “sued by survivors of any school shooting” while tweet-pleading for Hogg’s mercy to help him save his YouTube account “after CNN lobbied for it to be closed in your name.” (CNN actually only reported on Jones’ YouTube woes, but he always sees things differently.)

In response, Hogg decided that he’s not up to appearing on Jones’ show. “I will not speak to anyone that has had disgusting remarks to victims of mass shootings in the past,” he declared.

And here’s Hogg’s tweet about Jones’ “snake oil” fitness supplements. It’s not kind, but neither is anyone who floats “crisis actors” while referring to teenagers who witnessed and survived the deaths of their classmates.