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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

#71

Post by wyager »

sterlind wrote: post #22
budder wrote: post #16

Quoted post unavailable.

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.

You're making up a narrative for why suppressing free speech is acceptable in this instance, not discharging the notion that free speech was, in fact, suppressed.

The fact that a conspiracy talk radio guy can get hit with a billion dollar fine for some off-hand nutso claim (that he subsequently recanted!) is a very unpromising barometer for the health of free speech in our country.

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

#72

Post by Taniwha »

"CIVIL-RIGHTS LAWYER NARRATOR: But punitive-damages awards aren’t dischargeable in bankruptcy. So Alex Jones will be paying off these debts from wage garnishments, attachments, & sheriff’s sales of his stuff for the rest of his wretched, pathetic, worthless life."

from: https://twitter.com/SubodhChandra/status/1580285453348921344

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

#73

Post by Natsu »

donatj wrote: post #43
lokar wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have a system for that. Juries decide.

Juries are not mind readers. At best you can get to roughly what a rational person would have thought given said data, Alex Jones is not rational. It is literally unknowable.

This is actually a legit distinction and a jury could base their decision on this. However, the matter is entirely up to the jury and in this case they decided they did know what he thought and there's not much that can be done about it.

It could well be reduced on appeal and it's unlikely they can pay that much, however.

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

#74

Post by Consultant32452 »

GamerUncle wrote: post #46

This is more than the amount that people that lied about WDM's in the middle East were ever fined with. Consider they killed millions. Please know that I am not siding with Jones but this is ludicrous.

If you lie in a way that lets the government ruthlessly murder millions you get promotions and a cushy pension.

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

#75

Post by heavyset_go »

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?

Jones led a years-long defamatory harassment campaign against grieving parents for profit. He did not merely say something was a hoax, he organized and profited, for years, from his slander and harassment against many innocent people.

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

#76

Post by budder »

alkonaut wrote: post #28
budder wrote: post #16

Quoted post unavailable.

If there ever was such a country, would people want to live there? And if they wouldn’t, doesn’t that just mean it would change? I can’t see how some form of free speech absolutism would even function. As for the size of the damages: in the US, weirdly, rich people pay more damages because I assume it’s also a way of making them stop committing the crime and not simply compensation for damage done.

Yes, I think people should be able to tweet things like “masks do/don’t” work without being able to be sued.

It’s the same thing with covid. It was made illegal to question it

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

#77

Post by bushbaba »

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.

Unless his primary residence is in Florida which the homestead act prevents the courts taking. He could then shift all his funds to Crypto and use Crypto ATMs that don't require KYC to withdraw a few thousand (per wallet) at a time.

OJ is a prime example of how a truly wealthy individual can prevent the bulk of the wealth being taken from a court order.

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

#78

Post by wyager »

colesantiago wrote: post #68
jagger27 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is a billion not enough?

Absolutely not, it should be $1BN for every year InforWars has been in operation.

Do you understand that the amount of the damages has zero practical bearing past a number much smaller than $1B?

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

#80

Post by notacoward »

miked85 wrote: post #60
toss1 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Quoted post unavailable.

The first amendment binds only the government, not private torts. It has never applied to libel, slander, fraud, or a host of other things either. Bringing it up in this context, especially as a one-line throwaway, is an act of extreme bad faith. No sane definition of "free speech" precludes accountability for one's words or their tangible effects.
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