Ban Info Wars - Alex Jones.

[FrotzMe]

This is outrageous. Info Wars finally gets banned from YouTube and Facebook and now you start hosting him!?!?  I have been a member of Spotify since the start and became a paying member almost as soon as it was possible. I’m giving Spotify 1 month to realize their mistake and drop this complete pos or I’m going to iTunes. 

[FrotzMe]

Hi Godsweapon (didn't know God needed a weapon, i thought he was omnipotent). 

That was a really lame post, alluding that people who don't want their money to go to a raving hate mogering lunatic (or perhaps just a cynic) are deluded (blue pill).

Regarding china, they have a dictatorial system, so no argument there. But that doesn't mean that I should accept idiots who are spewing out hate **bleep** crazy conspiracy theories in order to get ratings (and pander to their egomaniacal side). All it does is trick people to hate the other side which definitely does damage to democracy. I'll will vote with my wallet, and my call on spotify to drop Info wars still stands. I'll take my money elsewhere.

And as for free speech. I have never said that Alex Jones should be denied his right to free speech (even though he just spews BS), but i'm sure as .... not going to pay for it.

[Bastian87]

Spotify needs to stop banning people just because people ask for it. I am considering canceling my subscription unless you stop this censorship. Please, Spotify, I really like you, but if you continue to give into left terrorism I will no longer contribute money to this. And to you who are asking for someone to be banned, it is not ok. If you do not like someone it does not mean he should be banned, just don't listen to him and that's it. You do not get to decide what other people listen to. Respect freedom.

PS: I am against what alex jones says and does in 90% of cases, but that does not mean he should be banned. I respect even the people who have different opinions than me.

[GODSweapon]

Awesome! God bless you for not being afraid to think out loud. That's how we all learn , from each other and our suffering views, opinions and ideas!

You're a patriot Bastian.

[GODSweapon]

Hah not suffering, **bleep** google autocorrect.. supposed to read differing views

[cj11363]

  The bottom line is that Spotify is doing what they think is best for their business model, and I am thrilled that what Spotify considers to be in their best interest happens to align with my personal values.  It gives my faith in our society a rare bump, even though I think that they probably wound up doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.

[trumpetare]

Agree with you. I am honestly thinking of leaving all of these platforms all together. This is ludicrious. Yes, I aint a fan of Alex Jones, but he hasnt said anything remotely close to hate speach or violence. That Spotify do this, just tells about their not believe in free speach ond democrazy at all. People shall not be the judge in a democrazy, we have our courts for that. This lynch-mob mentally has top stop. If Spotify wont re-instates Alex Jones. They loose me as customer for good. I will not use Spotify anymore for any purposes, until they understand how a democrazy works. I will removes Spotify today from all my phones and systems. Good Bye Spotify.

[Bastian87]

I totally support people that have been harmed by Jones and his words. I think they should sue him and make him accountable. But banning his account out of presure from media is another thing.

[jeresoph]

I respect your right to a different opinion. But on what grounds and using what criteria would you ban anyone? What words would you use to conclude that we don’t want someone to profit off our platform? For me, I would say that any hate filled speech that is objectively untrue and which is based on fear mongering.
But that’s just me.
What about you?
Are there any words that would be unacceptable to you?

[samson365]

I am not a fan of Infowars in the slightest but who is forcing you guys to listen to Alex Jones? I understand that this is a private company and their policy is what it is, I am going to say it again. I think Alex Jones and Infowars have some out there views, many that I don't agree with at all. That being said, I disagree wholeheartedly with the banning and removal of their content from this platform. I have been a huge fan and supporter of spotify for years, this move however has me reconsidering my monthly payments. I have already closed my family account. I support policy that stands for individual rights, not policy that claims to shelter me from "hate speech". I am capable of handling offensive opinions myself.

[cj11363]

I would argue that one can still go to AJ's website to consume his content. 

Perhaps there is no content so vile that you would have a problem with it being hosted on Spotify, or possibly you would just draw the line in a slightly different place.

The lies, libel and defamation that Alex Jones promotes are on the wrong side of where I draw the line and I want nothing to do with funding his platform.

[samson365]

We most likely draw lines in very similar places. Its not my place to draw those lines on behalf of others though. Fair enough, if you don't listen to his content then you don't fund it. Content creators are paid per stream.

[FrotzMe]

@samson365 whenever someone streams Info Wars a bit of my subscription money also goes to Alex Jones. It doesn't matter who is streaming.

[FrotzMe]

@samson365 No one has denied Alex Jones his rights. I have simply stated that i will not pay for his hate speech and false conspiracies. His **bleep** does immense damage and even harms democracy. And yes you do pay for everything that gets streamed on spotify. 

https://medium.com/cuepoint/how-to-make-streaming-royalties-fair-er-8b38cd862f66

[samson365]

The article pretty much said what I did. It just adds that the rest of the funds go into the popular artists. If Alex Jones is that popular, who are you to deny people who also pay their way to hear it? What harm is it doing to you? This all has to do with you pushing you're beliefs onto others, I am against that. Even if it means arguing for a nut job. Stop being thought police and just enjoy you're music, because if we go down this road it won't be long before one of you're favorite podcasts or artists is banned too.

[cj11363]

Are you ( samson365 ) arguing that there is no content so vile that it warrants being banned ?

[jeresoph]

The harm it is doing to me (and to you and most rational people) is that it is is persuading them that things which are knowingly false (there was no sandy hook massacre) are possibly true. Now there’s a difference between harmless lies (the moon landing was faked) and much of Jones' rants. His screaming, angry tone delivered with certitude is likely to provide false comfort to those who are mentally adrift. Just as we would not tolerate anti semites or racists to have a platform and I for one do not believe that his content is any less vicious or dangerous to a fragile mind. Why are you so scared that we should do what we can to encourage the truth and decency.

[samson365]

This is why I made the thought police comment. Who will be the arbiter of truth and decency? Do you understand the consequences of what you are asking for? Alex Jones certainly isnt convincing me of anything, far from it. I actually watch his channel to see what new conspiracy junk is circulating. Why? So I can debunk it myself and discredit it if it were to ever come up in conversation. It isnt up to you or the ministry of truth and decency (lol) to decide what people listen to. If you're mind is so malleable that Alex Jones actually persuades you, maybe you should focus on yourself before speaking for people with "fragile minds". As vile as his content may be, in order to think you have to risk being offended. Plus nobody is forcing you to watch it. You only care about what other people do. Why would that be?

[cj11363]

You seem to be arguing that there is nothing so false and vile that it can not be published in a public forum.  I for one am glad that society doesn't support that position.

It's not about something as arbitrary as "hate speech" or "thought police".  It's about lies, libel and defamation.  These are things that have legal definitions.  Before it's all said and done, I'm sure that Mr. Jones will add considerably to the case law in this area.

[Wolfin]

So people threaten to cancel their subscriptions if you don't remove him... personally I canceled mine because you did remove him. There is no "I support free speech, but..." it's do or don't.

So for a private company it comes down to deciding which side to side with, that is, which side has more customers who will actually act on their threats. Pretty clear which that is currently, if not I expect to see him return shortly.

I don't even follow him, but will of course defend his right to speak publicly.

This is a sad day for the internet. 

[jeresoph]

I’m not trying to persuade you of my pov but clarify how you interpret mine.

1) Spotify is legally able to host whomever it likes and not host whomever offends it. So legally at the very least I am not trying to control free speech. Is that clear? I am not advocating for dilution if the 1st amendment. But if someone came into my house and ranted about whatever nonsense took his fancy, and made absurd, dishonest and unbalanced claims I would kick him out. He’s on my turf and I set the rules.
2) With that in mind, I (not you apparently) have come to a POV that it is better to try to make your platform truth based and empathetic even at the risk of excluding some could go either way, possibly toxic possibly not POV.
3) I don’t get to make the choice. You don’t get to make the choice. Only Spotify (in this case) does. And I don’t think they have thought this through. They are now having to reconcile their financial interests with a ‘civic duty’ to act responsibly. Their call entirely.
So what this debate about is trying to understand where Spotify ends up (an expression of their principles must be coming soon) and yours and my individual right to stay with them and hold our noses (in my case) or leave them.
4) To be honest I don’t think it’s that hard to determine whether somebody has crossed a line into toxicity. Like obscenity as someone said that you know it when you see it even though you can’t use the blunt tool of language to define it.

In my view Alex Jones adds nothing to civic debate, bases much of his content on falsehoods and half truths and is either fuelled by hate or convincingly adopts this persona. There are other platforms who host**bleep**. It’s up
to Spotify to determine if they also wish to be associated with him.