News
Jack Webb
Aug 13, 2018
Despite a rising chorus of anger, Alex Jones is still on Twitter. Apparently, the fact he's consistently using the platform so spread 'fake news' and conspiracy theories - like alleging that the Sandy Hook massacre never really happened - doesn't matter.
However, clever Twitter users are finding a way to effectively protest this and it's a pretty genius idea.
Twitter is of course a business, so just like Facebook it is funded largely in part by ad revenue in the shape of promoted tweets, hashtags and accounts.
So what can you do to protest this massive, ad-peddling corporation?
As a Twitter, user you have control over what you can and can't see in your timeline. Take, for example, those infuriating accounts you happen across - if you don't like what they're sharing, you can block or mute them.
This feature works on any accounts, even promoted ones who might be paying for tweets.
The protest action being taken is encouraging users to block Twitter's advertisers in droves via a handy block list.
The idea being that if enough people publicly block the interests that effectively pay for Twitter's audience reach, then this might apply some much needed pressure to get Alex Jones swiftly removed from the platform.
Activist Shannon Coulter is spearheading the protest against Alex Jones. In the past she founded a similar action called GrabYourWallet, which puts pressure on companies peddling Trump-related products.
Shannon shared this message on Twitter:
The thread runs you through a number of guides on how to block Twitter's big advertisers. There's a handy blocking tool that Coulter created which instantly blocks all the accounts in one fell swoop.
If you're nervous on giving accessibility to your Twitter account, then there's also a useful Google Doc which contains the same list of companies where you can follow links to manually block them on Twitter yourself.
While it is an intimidating list, Shannon assures "even if you only blocked the top 25 to 50, that would have an impact".
If you use her blocking tool, Ms Coulter has said that if Alex Jones is removed from Twitter, the tool will automatically unblock all of the accounts.
The whole effort is happening under its very own hashtag - #BlockParty500 - which seems to be gaining a lot of traction.
Let's be clear, Alex Jones can spout whatever nonsense he wants because that's his right - but it remains in the hands of businesses like Twitter and Facebook to decide exactly where he can say these things.
Facebook decided, after mounting pressure, that Alex Jones cultivating and maintaining a presence on the platform was not a good idea for the business, and to that end he's been removed.
Ignoring the fact that Alex Jones has broken the platform's rules - as CNN even proved - the company made it's stance clear that Jones won't be punished for his past behaviour.
More: InfoWars: Alex Jones responds to his social media ban by spreading more conspiracy theories
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