“Hillary reportedly, I was told people around her that they think she's demon possessed. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it.”
Former InfoWars video editor Josh Owens pulls back the curtain on how Alex Jones' media operation manufactured outrage from nothing — sending crews to film "radiation" on California beaches that showed normal levels, staging a fake ISIS border crossing with a prop severed head, and building entire news cycles around a single low-flying plane, all without making a single phone call to verify facts. Jones never explicitly ordered his staff to lie; instead, he weaponized approval, money, and fear to keep employees self-censoring and truth-bending on his behalf — a cult-like dynamic Owens only began to break from after realizing his fabricated Islamophobic reports were targeting real, innocent people. For anyone trying to understand how disinformation actually gets made — not by shadowy masterminds, but by young, directionless people desperate for a paycheck and a boss's approval — this episode is essential listening.
Dave Davies introduces Alex Jones, InfoWars, and Josh Owens, a former video editor for Jones, and his new memoir. Jones's controversial claims and the Sandy Hook conspiracy are highlighted.
“There are dozens of videos and photos of Obama having flies land on him indoors at all times of year, and he'll be next to 100 people and no one has flies on him.”
This quote exemplifies the absurd and often bizarre nature of the conspiracy theories propagated by figures like Alex Jones, highlighting their detachment from reality.
“Hillary reportedly, I was told people around her that they think she's demon possessed. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it.”
This quote demonstrates the extreme, often supernatural, accusations used in disinformation campaigns to discredit public figures and inflame public opinion.
“His new memoir takes readers inside the frenetic InfoWars paranoia shop, where Jones constantly demanded that his staff churn out stories of the evil perpetrated by the deep state and global elites.”
This quote vividly describes the toxic and manipulative environment of a major disinformation factory, highlighting its operational focus and the type of content it produces.
“Owens was troubled by the work, but stayed longer than he wishes he had, because the pay was good, the work was engaging, and while he found Jones a troubled and sometimes terrifying man, Owens still sought his approval.”
This quote offers a psychological insight into the complex motivations—financial, professional, and personal—that can keep individuals tethered to problematic or unethical organizations.