Alex Jones touts 'the most banned information in the world'

New York: Until recently it seemed that Alex Jones, America's most popular conspiracy theorist, could say almost anything he liked and get away with it.

The radio host and creator of the website InfoWars has claimed the US government co-ordinated the September 11 attacks and geo-engineers hurricanes, described chemical attacks in Syria as "false flag" operations and accused Russia probe Special Counsel Robert Mueller of covering up paedophilia. He then threatened to shoot him.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of InfoWars.com is a hit on social media.

Along the way he has attracted millions of followers and made a fortune selling online advertising and vitamin supplements with names like Brain Force Plus and Super Male Vitality. When he was running for president, Donald Trump appeared on Jones's radio show and told him: “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.”

Now Jones's ability to speak freely is coming under unprecedented pressure. He has been suspended by two social media platforms and is facing five defamation lawsuits that could drain his finances. The fallout will provide an important insight into how modern America balances two competing desires: combating fake news and protecting free speech.

Facebook last week announced that it had suspended Jones' personal account for 30 days and was considering permanently banning him from the platform after he published four videos that breached its standards on bullying and hate speech.

In two of the videos Jones suggested Muslims were gaining control of the European continent and another showed a child being pushed to the ground.

The decision represents a tougher approach from Facebook, which said Jones' earlier post about Mueller did not breach its standards.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, has also pulled down the videos and last week issued a "community strike" against Jones, meaning he can not livestream his show on the site for the next 90 days.

“We have long-standing policies against child endangerment and hate speech,” a spokesperson said.

InfoWars host Alex Jones has been suspended by Facebook and YouTubeCredit: Infowars

If Jones receives another two strikes within three months he could be permanently banned from YouTube, a vital platform to reach viewers and gain advertising revenue.

Jones received a strike in February when he falsely suggested that survivors of the Parkland shooting were trained “crisis actors".

He continues to broadcast freely on his own website, where he has told his followers they were accessing "the most banned information in the world".

Jones' podcasts also remain available for download on Spotify, a fact that has led some to call for a boycott of the music streaming giant.

Jones is also facing a raft of expensive legal battles - most flowing from his repeated attempts to cast doubt on the truthfulness of school shooting survivors and victims' families.

On Wednesday, US time, Jones will seek to dismiss a case brought by Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, the parents of a victim of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Their case is based on what they say was a false claim by Jones that De La Rosa was part of a faked interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.Credit: AP

Neil Heslin, the parent of another Sandy Hook victim, has also filed a case claiming a guest on one of Jones' shows falsely accused Heslin of lying when he said he held his son’s dead body and observed a bullet hole in his head.

Massachussetts man Marcel Fontaine has also filed a $US1 million ($1.3 million) suit claiming Jones caused him “enormous injury and continuing personal harassment" by using a photo of him to falsely identify him as a suspect of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

In response to a separate suit filed in Connecticut related to the Sandy Hook shooting, Jones' lawyers compared him to the celebrated journalists who broke the Watergate scandal in the 1970s.

"Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein relied on allegations from 'Deep Throat' to link the Nixon Administration to the Watergate break-in," the lawyers wrote. "Such journalism, questioning official narratives, would be chilled if reporters were subject to liability if they turned out to be wrong."

Students hold their hands in the air as they are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in February.Credit: AP

Bill Bloss, a lawyer for the families, argued: "The First Amendment simply does not protect false statements about the parents of one of the worst tragedies in our nation's history.

"Any effort by any of the defendants to avoid responsibility for the harm that they have inflicted will be unsuccessful."

Another defamation suit claims that Jones falsely called a witness to last year’s deadly attack at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a “deep state shill” and a “CIA asset".

The outcome of the cases is likely to depend on whether the claimants are considered "public figures" and whether they can show Jones acted with "actual malice" towards them, meaning he made knowingly false statements or acted with reckless disregard to its veracity.

Jones last year apologised to Greek yoghurt company Chobani and retracted claims the manufacturer had been importing "migrant rapists" to America.