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Alex Jones told to pay $965M damages to Sandy Hook victims' families

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Alex Jones told to pay $965M damages to Sandy Hook victims' families

#51

Post by AnimalMuppet »

belval wrote: post #5

So how were the damage calculated? I get that this guy is a nutjob but how can saying something is a hoax get you a 1B fine?

It's not just "saying something is a hoax". It's deliberately lying, for years, for his own profit, in a way that caused significant amounts of damage to the people he was lying about. Should that be free from consequences?

No. No, it should not be.

And, since there was profit from the lying, shouldn't the damages be greater than the profit from the lies?

Yes. Yes, it should be.

Re: Alex Jones told to pay $965M damages to Sandy Hook victims' families

#52

Post by saltminer »

klyrs wrote: post #14
tootie wrote: post #6

I'm sure that will get reduced by the judge based on whatever state law, but it's a huge signal to Jones that he's an absolute monster.

> it's a huge signal to Jones that he's an absolute monster. I'd predict that he's going to flaunt the enormity if this penalty, and his fans will lap it up.

Considering how they used a clip from the trial talking about Jones' crypto "donations" for an ad to get viewers to send more crypto, I'm sure the verdict will be incorporated into future ad breaks as well.

Re: Alex Jones told to pay $965M damages to Sandy Hook victims' families

#53

Post by AnimalMuppet »

dexwiz wrote: post #21
Arrath wrote: post #3

While nothing can bring back their children, siblings, or classmates, one hopes (but doesn't expect) that this will help consign a particularly vile and repugnant conspiracy theory to the dustbin of polite discourse.

Doubt. The people who believe this kind of stuff will just say it's the deep state trying to cover up their conspiracy or some equally asinine garbage. They have a persecution fetish, and any sort of punishment will just cause them to double down.

"There's none so blind as those that just won't see."

Re: Alex Jones told to pay $965M damages to Sandy Hook victims' families

#55

Post by dragonwriter »

donatj wrote: post #37
sterlind wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jones stated that the Sandy Hook victims were crisis actors. he knew that to be false. it was an egregious case of defamation. knowingly spreading lies that damage someone's reputation is called slander, and it's not protected by the first amendment. neither is shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, or committing perjury, or falsifying your income taxes.

Quoted post unavailable.

> That seems tenuous. I don't think anyone can prove what Alex Jones believed.

“Prove” in this context means “convince a jury that it is more likely true than not”; legal proof is not logical/mathematical proof, and, among legal standards of proof, the main civil standard (“preponderance of the evidence”) is lower than the standard required for criminal conviction (“beyond a reasonable doubt”).

Beliefs and other mental states are routinely proven in court under both the criminal and civil standards. The arguments that this is impossible rely on concepts of “proof” that are not applicable to the legal environment.

Re: Alex Jones told to pay $965M damages to Sandy Hook victims' families

#59

Post by wyager »

tootie wrote: post #6

I'm sure that will get reduced by the judge based on whatever state law, but it's a huge signal to Jones that he's an absolute monster.

The decisions of the courts are, by a wide margin, much more influenced by one's relationship with the regime than by one's relationship with morality.

Re: Alex Jones told to pay $965M damages to Sandy Hook victims' families

#60

Post by miked85 »

toss1 wrote: post #47
miked85 wrote: post #25

He will never possibly be able to pay this amount. It's just theater and will never happen.

He may not pay that amount, but he will spend the rest of his life bankrupt or spending most of his energy avoiding judgement, which is a not unreasonable fate for people who make a living lying, cheating, and stealing.

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