”It’s clearly not going to be enough to stop the flood of disinformation about our elections being stolen,“ one legal expert told TheWrap
The case against Alex Jones had all the elements of classic defamation: a demonstrably false claim, real harm caused to victims and reckless disregard for truth. It was so airtight, legal experts tell TheWrap, that it might send a message to open conspiracy theorists – but won’t do much to move the needle on prosecuting disinformation and fake news.
Last week Jones was ordered to pay nearly $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the family of a 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim for claiming the 2012 shooting was a hoax. The Infowars founder now faces two additional damages hearings after Jones and his media company, Free Speech Systems, were found liable in Nov. 2021 for defaming and inflicting emotional distress on the victims’ families.
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Not only was it a clear-cut case, but Jones lost on a default judgment when his legal team failed to provide critical information. Nonetheless, the large damages award is a step in the right direction for condemning disinformation – at least when defamation applies – legal experts tell TheWrap.
“It’s not easy to stop people from lying, given our commitment to the First Amendment,” UCLA law professor Richard L. Hasen said. “But the Jones case shows that when when people lie...
Athena Construction Group Inc. must pay about $1 million for violating the False Claims Act by making misrepresentations about its eligibility to receive contracts set aside for HUBZone companies,...