Jack Dorsey defends Twitter's seven day 'timeout' for Infowars' Alex Jones claiming it will make the site 'think about their actions and their behaviors'

  • Alex Jones encouraged his supporters to get 'battle rifles' ready against media
  • Jones won't be able to tweet or retweet from his account for the next seven days
  • News comes after the InfoWars website went down for several hours yesterday
  • According to staff at the website, one of multiple servers was kicked offline

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has defended the social media network's decision to put Infowars' Alex Jones in a seven-day 'timeout'. 

Dorsey said he resisted banning Jones, the embattled conspiracy theorist and radio host, despite calls to do so from in and outside the firm.

'We can't build a service that is subjective just to the whims of what we personally believe,' Dorsey told NBC News' Lester Holt in an exclusive interview. 

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Dorsey told NBC News' Lester Holt in an exclusive interview.he resisted banning Jones, the embattled conspiracy theorist and radio host, despite calls to do so from in and outside the firm.

Dorsey told NBC News' Lester Holt in an exclusive interview.he resisted banning Jones, the embattled conspiracy theorist and radio host, despite calls to do so from in and outside the firm.

WHAT IS A TWITTER TIMEOUT? 

Alex Jones account has been placed in read-only mode for seven days.

 Twitter confirmed he can still browse Twitter posts, but can't interact with other users by tweeting, retweeting or liking posts. 

Jones was also required to delete the offending tweet, which included a snippet of video, Twitter said.

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'I feel any suspension, whether it be a permanent or a temporary one, makes someone think about their actions and their behaviors,' Dorsey said.

When asked by Holt if he believes Jones will change his behavior, Dorsey said he did not know.

'Whether it works within this case to change some of those behaviors and change some of those actions, I don't know,' Dorsey said. 

'But this is consistent with how we enforce.'

The ban was imposed after InfoWars creator Jones tweeted a link to an online video calling for supporters to get their 'battle rifles' ready against media and others.

Austin-based right-wing broadcaster Jones, who believes the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was a hoax, won't be able to tweet or retweet from his personal account for the next seven days, although he can still browse Twitter.

Dorsey said he feels 'terrible' at the pain Jones has caused the Sandy Hook families and acknowledged that the company had been slow to respond.

'I think we have felt behind and we have felt that we have moved too slow in a lot of our actions,' he said.

Twitter says it is suspending the account of the far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (pictured) for one week after he violated the company's rules against inciting violence 

Twitter says it is suspending the account of the far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (pictured) for one week after he violated the company's rules against inciting violence 

The news comes as it was revealed the InfoWars website went down for several hours yesterday from noon CST (18:00 BST/ 13:00 ET).

According to staff working on the news website, one of multiple servers was kicked offline, which they believe was caused by a targeted cyber attack.

InfoWars claims the attack is the latest in a string of plots to remove its commentary, as 'social media giants try to silence political speech ahead of midterms'.

Facebook, Apple, YouTube and Spotify have all taken down material published by Alex Jones in recent weeks, reflecting a more aggressive enforcement of hate speech policies.

Jones says his InfoWars shows, which are broadcast on radio, YouTube and other platforms, reach at least 70 million people a week.

The official InfoWars account will remain active on Twitter, despite the restrictions imposed on Alex Jones' personal social media profile for the next week.

Twitter says Alex Jones has not been permanently suspended from the social network, but will have access to limited functionality for the next seven days.

'We can confirm that the [personal Alex Jones] account currently has limited functionality,' a Twitter spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline.

According to the London-based Infowars editor-at-large, Paul Joseph Watson, the site has been cyber attacked at the same time

According to the London-based Infowars editor-at-large, Paul Joseph Watson, the site has been cyber attacked at the same time

The company also confirmed it was 'requiring Tweets which contained a broadcast in violation of our rules are deleted'.

In recent weeks, a number of platforms have banned content from Alex Jones, including Apple's iTunes, Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.

According to London-based Infowars editor-at-large, Paul Joseph Watson, at the same time as the bans, the website was simultaneously hit with a cyber attack.

'Infowars.com is down again. We have been under cyber attack for over a week since Big Tech launched its purge,' he tweeted.

Insiders claim the attack was a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS).

'Infowars.com is down', tweeted Jones, in what insiders claimed was a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) cyber attack

'Infowars.com is down', tweeted Jones, in what insiders claimed was a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) cyber attack

'After being targeted for weeks, our #1A is in great peril!,' he said, claiming that the 'war to deplatform infowars just went to a new level.'

Apple, YouTube, Spotify and Facebook all announced blocks on the conspiracy theorist's accounts and content within hours of one another last week, citing hate policy violations.

Simultaneously, the conspiracy theorist saw tweets and videos removed from his personal Twitter account, as well as posts from the official InfoWars account.

Twitter confirmed the tweets had been removed but claimed it was not responsible for taking down the posts. Instead, it suggested the contentious tweets may have been removed by Jones himself or somebody with access to the Infowars account.

Speaking at the time, Twitter did confirm to MailOnline that it was actively 'reviewing' the content included in Alex Jones' personal account, as well as that on InfoWars.

WHO IS ALEX JONES?

Alex Jones is a controversial radio and podcast host based in Austin, Texas.

Jones says his 'InfoWars' shows, which are broadcast on radio, YouTube and other platforms, reach at least 70 million people a week.

Among other claims, he has called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting a hoax.

He was sued for defamation by families of some of the children killed in that attack, which left 20 children and six adults dead.

Among other claims, Alex Jones (file photo) has called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting a hoax. He was sued for defamation by families of some of the children killed in that attack, which left 20 children and six adults dead 

Among other claims, Alex Jones (file photo) has called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting a hoax. He was sued for defamation by families of some of the children killed in that attack, which left 20 children and six adults dead 

He now admits the shooting occurred but says his claims were free speech. He has sought to have the lawsuit dismissed.

Jones has also claimed that the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington were staged by the US government. 

While he began broadcasting his shows in 1999, Jones' profile has spread from the far-right fringe in recent years.

While running for president in 2015, Donald Trump told Jones his reputation was 'amazing.'

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The temporary suspension from Twitter comes less than a week after CEO Jack Dorsey defended the decision not to ban the radical-right radio host from the platform entirely. 

Speaking on August 7, Dorsey defended his company's decision to allow far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to use the platform to spread his message.

He maintained that his website won't bow to 'outside pressure' in a series of tweets.

'We didn't suspend Alex Jones or InfoWars,' he said at the time.

'We know that's hard for many but the reason is simple: he hasn't violated our rules. We'll enforce if he does.

'And we'll continue to promote a healthy conversational environment by ensuring tweets aren't artificially amplified.' 

Jones frequently lands in hot water for inciting the harassment of targets of his political rants. He claims his shows reach at least 70 million people a week

Jones frequently lands in hot water for inciting the harassment of targets of his political rants. He claims his shows reach at least 70 million people a week

WHAT ARE TWITTER'S POLICIES?

Graphic violence and adult content

The company does not allow people to post graphic violence.

This could be any form of gory media related to death, serious injury, violence, or surgical procedures.

Adult content - that includes media that is pornographic and/or may be intended to cause sexual arousal - is also banned.

Some form of graphic violence and adult content is allowed in Tweets marked as containing sensitive media.

However, these images are not allowed in profile or header images.

Twitter may sometimes require users to remove excessively graphic violence out of respect for the deceased and their families.

Unlawful use

The platform is not allowed to be used to further illegal activities.

Badges

Users are not allowed to use badges, including but not limited to the 'promoted' or 'verified' Twitter badges, unless provided by Twitter.

Accounts using unauthorised badges as part of their profile photos, header photos, display names, or in any way that falsely implies affiliation with Twitter or authorisation from Twitter to display these badges, may be suspended.

Usernames

Users may not buy or sell Twitter usernames.

Username squatting - when people take the name of a trademark company or a celebrity - is not allowed.

Twitter also has the right to remove accounts that are inactive for more than six months.

Abusive behaviour

Context matters when evaluating for abusive behaviour and determining appropriate enforcement actions.

Factors we may take into consideration include whether the behaviour is targeted at an individual; the report has been filed by the target of the abuse or a bystander or the behaviour is newsworthy and in the legitimate public interest.

Users may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people.

This includes, but is not limited to, threatening or promoting terrorism.

Users may not promote or encourage suicide or self-harm. Users may not promote child sexual exploitation.

Users may not direct abuse at someone by sending unwanted sexual content, objectifying them in a sexually explicit manner, or otherwise engaging in sexual misconduct.

Users may not use hateful images or symbols in your profile image or profile header.

Private information

Users may not publish or post other people's private information without their express authorisation and permission.

Users may not post or share intimate photos or videos of someone that were produced or distributed without their consent.

Users may not threaten to expose someone's private information or intimate media.

Source: Twitter 

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Dorsey added: 'Truth is we've been terrible at explaining our decisions in the past. 

'We're fixing that.

'We're going to hold Jones to the same standard we hold to every account, not taking one-off actions to make us feel good in the short term, and adding fuel to new conspiracy theories.'

In a series of tweets on the subject, Dorsey said Twitter reasoned that it was journalists' job to shine the light of truth on unsubstantiated rumours or sensationalised issues.

WHO HAS TWITTER BANNED IN THE PAST?

Twitter announced in November 2017 it would begin banning accounts affiliated with 'hate groups'.

In March, former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson was banned for violating hate speech rules

In March, former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson was banned for violating hate speech rules

The news followed years of criticism from users that the site allowed neo-nazi, white supremacist and other extremist groups to spread abusive messages.

Twitter suspended the accounts of several leaders of the far-right group Britain First in December 2017 for breaking its rules on hate speech.

In March 2018, former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson was banned for violating rules governing 'hateful conduct'.

The site announced it would soon undertake stronger measures to crack down on online trolls in May.

Despite sweeping bans, the site has come under criticism for not doing enough to purge itself of abusive users.

In July 2018, actor Seth Rogan lashed out at Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for continuing to verify the accounts of white supremacists.

He tweeted: 'I've been DMing with @Jack about his bizarre need to verify white supremacists on his platform for the last 8 months or so, and after all the exchanges, I’ve reached a conclusion: the dude simply does not seem to give a f**k.'

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