Who is Alex Jones? American conspiracy theorist ordered to pay Sandy Hook families nearly $1 billion for hoax claims

Alex Jones, the far-right American conspiracy theorist, was ordered by a Connecticut jury on October 12 to pay $965 million to the families of the eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent for making false claims that the killing was a hoax.

A Texas jury had earlier mandated Jones to pay about $50 million to the parents of a six-year-old boy slain in the shooting in a separate lawsuit in August for repeatedly lying about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which resulted in the deaths of twenty children and six adults.





The victims' families said in court that they endured years of harassment and threats from Jones' followers due to the lies he peddled.

FAQs

Alex Jones, who is he?
The 48-year-old conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been propagating falsehoods on his highly influential website, Infowars, for over 20 years. Additionally, he airs "The Alex Jones Show" on more than 100 radio stations, reaching millions of listeners peddling unsubstantiated claims in his distinctive loud style.

What are the bizarre theories spread by Jones?
Bizarre conspiracy theories pushed by Jones include the claim that the US government is lacing the water supply with chemicals to make people homosexual and that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were sulfur-smelling demons from hell.

What is Jones's connection to the Sandy Hook massacre?
Alex Jones quickly rose to prominence after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre through his widespread dissemination of disinformation that the massacre was a "massive hoax" and a "government conspiracy" launched to take away firearms from the American people.