Sen. Ted Cruz may not be the biggest fan of controversial radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, but one thing he supports is Jones right to free speech, according to a tweet from Cruz's Twitter account after Facebook announced it banned Jones on its platform for 30 days.
Jones, known best for his far-right based content site InfoWars, has been in hot water with several social media organizations and streaming sites, who have taken immediate action against his accounts on their platforms. Facebook said it put Jones on a 30-day block for his connection to posting violating content to four of his pages: the Alex Jones Channel Page, the Alex Jones Page, the InfoWars Page and the Infowars Nightly News Page. Facebook said they have removed the four pages from their platforms for violating their graphic violence and hate speech policies.
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After learning of Jones' banishment from Facebook in a Mashable article, Cruz seemingly came to Jones' defense on Twitter -- even questioning the social media giant's authority on blocking free speech.
"Am no fan of Jones — among other things he has a habit of repeatedly slandering my Dad by falsely and absurdly accusing him of killing JFK — but who the hell made Facebook the arbiter of political speech? Free speech includes views you disagree with. #1A," the tweet said.
Cruz also said, "This is troubling. Social media shouldn't be in the business of political censorship."
Facebook is just one of a few media platforms taking action against Jones. Monday it was announced that Spotify had removed hundreds of episodes from "The Alex Jones Show" on their streaming service, and Apple removed all episodes of the podcast show from iTunes and other podcast apps. Similarly to Facebook, Youtube has banned Jones live broadcasting for 90 days and removed four of his videos, citing his violation of their graphic content policy.
Facebook said the removal of Jones' pages were not due to fake news but were in violation of their bullying and hate speech policies.
Jones is currently in the middle of several lawsuits from parents of the victims in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The conspiracy theorist has reportedly said the massacre never happened. Jones is working to have those cases dismissed.
