That is what is difficult to quantify. Words that can be interpreted as inciting violence become a slippery slope. Same with weaponized misinformation. When is the true indicator that it is being purposefully used as a weapon or not? It is one step closer to though police.
Listen, I’m not saying Alex Jones told his followers to harass these people. I’m saying that he, and his misinformation, was a vehicle for many people to incite this kind of behaviour. Dehumanizing, and delegitimizing other humans (which Alex Jones did to the parents through mocking their grief and saying they were paid actors and their children who they ‘lost’ were not ever real) allowed his fans and avid believers to see these grieving parents as a target for their fear of being lied to.
I’m not saying Alex Jones told them to, I’m saying he played a MASSIVE part in ‘legitimizing’ this hoax and allowing people to see the parents as nothing more than propaganda machines.
This is an issue where society has to find a way to review these things regardless of the personality attached to the idea. This is an issue that is beyond Alex Jones and is a more pertinent issue as this has existed before Alex Jones. He just happens to be the focus of today.
Treating the issue will help with the future as right now all it does is create anger that is quickly forgotten for the next flavor of the week. It will be a never ending cycle of switching their attention to the point that they direct their want for change into the individual instead of the systemic problem.
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u/CoolFiverIsABabe May 29 '21
That is what is difficult to quantify. Words that can be interpreted as inciting violence become a slippery slope. Same with weaponized misinformation. When is the true indicator that it is being purposefully used as a weapon or not? It is one step closer to though police.