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Twitter announced Thursday that it had banned the accounts of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his far-right news company, Infowars, because of "abusive behavior" on the platform.
"Today, we have definitely suspended @realalexjones and @infowars from Twitter and Periscope," tweeted thursday. "We took this step based on new reports from Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our policy of abusive behavior, in addition to past account violations."
Infowars did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Jones had about 900,000 followers on Twitter, while InfoWars had about 430,000.
Jones was reportedly banned for posting a video in which he clashed with CNN reporter Oliver Darcy in which he insulted Darcy's appearance.
In a video posted on the Infowars website, Jones said it was forbidden to "tell the truth".
"I was arrested not because we were mentions, but because we tell the truth and because we were popular," Jones said. "And then, when we met Oliver Darcy, who is the captain of the secret police, who admits he's touring people like Infowars, because we faced this monster who abused us and lied to us. because of that they made us fall. "
The latest ban came just weeks after Jones left Facebook and YouTube. Apple has also removed Jones and Infowars podcasts from its platform. Twitter, meanwhile, has placed Jones and Infowars in a "time out" for a week.
Twitter slapped Jones with the temporary suspension in mid-August, preventing him from using his personal account after encouraging his subscribers via a video embedded in a tweet to prepare their "battle rifles" against members of the media and other groups.
With the ban on Twitter, Jones is now "distorted" by all major social media companies. While Jones is still active on some far right websites, the bans had already been proven before Twitter acted. An analysis of the New York Times 'data revealed that Jones' audience had been cut in half because of the bans of Facebook and YouTube.
Twitter said it did not usually comment on enforcement measures, such as bans and suspensions, but decided to comment on Jones' case because "we wanted to be open to this action given the general interest of this case ".
The social media company said it would continue to monitor abuse reports from other accounts associated with Jones and InfoWars.
Jones made a surprise appearance in Washington on Wednesday, and sat just meters from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Dorsey also testified before the House Energy and Trade Committee.
Twitter has come under increasing pressure as critics thought the platform was allowing Jones to spread misinformation, including the falsity of staging the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Jones faces several defamation suits by the parents of the murdered children.
Outside of the hearing, Jones told reporters that the Democratic Party, the multinationals and the tech industry were conspiring to silence "conservative and nationalist and populist voices ahead of this mid-term critical election." ".
"I'm here to face my accusers," Jones said. "It's the 11th audition they've had where they invent all these incredible lies about me and others to sell the end of the First Amendment."
Dorsey has always defended the principles of freedom of expression, and Twitter had previously been reluctant to ban accounts for even extreme hate speech – something that has changed in recent years. In October 2017, Dorsey promised new rules on Twitter to combat hate speech and threats.
Dorsey, apparently uninvolved by Jones' presence, responded to Wednesday's censorship concerns at the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"Twitter does not use political ideology to make decisions, whether to classify content about our service or how we apply our rules," he said in prepared remarks.
When Dorsey left the building, Jones followed him to his car and started screaming at him – although it was not clear what Jones said.
Jones also faced Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Outside the Intelligence Committee meeting, while Rubio was talking to reporters.
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