Alex Jones is profiting from his new game on Steam — while refusing to pay the Sandy Hook families he defamed

Following his trial for defamation of the families of the children and school staff killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is using Valve Corp.’s Steam, the world’s largest digital distribution platform for PC games, to sell an Infowars-themed video game. Jones claims to have earned hundreds of thousands in revenue from the video game, yet he has refused to pay the Sandy Hook families. Alex Jones: NWO Wars also mirrors and cartoonishly repackages the conspiracy theorist’s regularly violent, hateful rhetoric despite the platform’s policies against hate speech.

GilgameshCatBeard,

I guarantee the kids will not boycott Steam. That’s a line drawn too far.

lolcatnip,

“The kids”?

Zorque,

Millenials and younger are all kids.

Nevermind that a not-insignificant portion are entering middle-age.

NoIWontPickaName,

Kid is objective and subjective.

It’s a paradox

cowfodder,

Elder millennials are now in their 40s.

24_at_the_withers,

Anybody younger than me is a kid. One of the few remaining things I have to look forward to in life is calling the new residents of the retirement home ‘kiddos’ and ‘youngsters’.

bramblepatchmystery,

My concern here is that these are not real sales and steam is allowing Jones to use their service for a poor attempt at laundering, but I suspect as a non user steam is already using services to ensure that the sales are coming from legitimate computers and cards.

Honytawk,

I mean, why aren’t his assets seized and bank accounts frozen at this point?

Or is it only the poor that have to pay their fines?

badbytes,

Sad when you realized who wrote the rules. Fairness is a dream.

Pratai,

Because America is entirely broken.

EatATaco,

Completely empty comment just shitting on America, overwhelmingly upvoted. Lol what a fucking joke this place can be.

Sarmyth,

It’s one of the shittier things about Lemmy.

AFC1886VCC,

Explaining the many reasons why America is broken could take quite a while. Some sentiments are best summed up in a few words.

EatATaco,

The post isn’t about America, they could have easily explained why this particular system is broken. But, hey, empty shitting on America is simple and sure to get some upvotes. Definitely what we should all be aiming for.

M137,
@M137@lemmy.world avatar

You’ve somehow missed that Alex Jones is a US citizen, and part of the reason he can earn money from this game is because the US is so broken.

None of that is hard to understand.

EatATaco,

Lol I love how I missed something that wasn’t even said. Why not just admit you really don’t know what’s wrong? Or that, for all you know this could be progressing normally and reasonably?

Pratai,

You’re free to leave. Unlike what America is becoming… you’ve got that freedom here.

Bye.

EatATaco,

You’re right, I can leave. Although I have that freedom in America too, so I’m not sure why you think that statement made any sense.

And just like with America I can stay and try to make it better. But I just regularly get reminded how low the common denominator is here. Keep defending it. Really proving what an intellectual independent thinker you are.

Pratai, (edited )

Yawn.

Whatever you say; Captain America. Should you be ironing your cape in preparation for the next big battle with…. everyone that thinks differently than you?

EatATaco,

I call out an empty comment and you interpret that as attacking anyone who thinks differently than me? Brilliant. Lol

Pratai,

Maybe you should try to stop being so angry moving forward. I would like that for you.

EatATaco,

You’re projecting.

Pratai,

ROFL… k.

Schadrach,

He’s jumping through all the hoops rich folks use to hide their money, which means the courts have to jump through the hoops to get at it, and the court system is slow by comparison.

sandwichfiend,

@Honytawk @stopthatgirl7 Why isn't he launched out of a cannon into the ocean?

SHADESLAYER_, (edited )

Because in the US we have laws. Thankfully so or armchair lawyer loons like you would be running a muck. It doesn’t really matter if he’s a shitbag, but you can’t just fuck with people because you don’t like them.

unreasonabro,

k there captain butthurt

wildginger,

Found AJs account

Jax,

Amok*

Gonkulator,
@Gonkulator@lemm.ee avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    BodePlotHole,

    Lil’ “bone apple tea” comin’ atcha!

    andxz,

    He makes his living by fucking with people he doesn’t like and he certainly got off easy compared to the damage he’s caused.

    Honytawk,

    It doesn’t matter if I like him or not.

    Court has ruled he needs to pay the fine, but instead of paying he is spending more money and doing ridiculous stuff like making this game. He is going against his court order. That shouldn’t be allowed. Any less wealthy person would have had their assets seized at this point.

    Yes the US has laws, but he is breaking them.

    SHADESLAYER_,

    It doesn’t really matter though if he has a pending court fine and he chooses to spend his money on something else. If he fails to pay the fine, there are repercussions. But this simply isn’t grounds for freezing someone’s bank accounts.

    It’s not illegal to buy something while you have court fines due. It’s stupid maybe, but not illegal.

    Daft_ish,

    Why is it stupid when he is already facing financial ruin?

    kava,

    There are lots of ways to hide money and protect your assets, and many of them perfectly legal.

    Lot of it stems from laws made to protect regular people in debt (bankruptcy laws, getting rid of debtors prison, etc) but people with money use them too

    Imo it’s a worthwhile price. Otherwise credit cards would just take money straight from your wages if they could.

    Daft_ish,

    Not when one of his victims has terminal cancer and can’t cash out because Jones is playing keep away through the courts.

    GreyEyedGhost,

    The problem is, shitty people are always going to abuse the laws. The goal, or at least the purported goal, is to minimize how many people get hurt when the law is abused.

    andros_rex,

    The court is trying. He’s just playing a lot of games. Lots of the money is held by his parents or hidden in different shell companies. The court established that he and InfoWars are basically the same thing as far as the money is concerned, so he’s been trying to start new shows and businesses to further complicate things.

    Court orders don’t automatically happen or always get enforced. Going through a divorce right now - lawyer told me that even if I do get an order that some of the shared debts are paid, he can just not. I’d have to go back to court and still get dinged on my credit.

    ynthrepic,
    @ynthrepic@lemmy.world avatar

    If you’re poor though they just put you in jail while they figure that stuff out. If they figure it out.

    charonn0,
    @charonn0@startrek.website avatar

    These are civil cases.

    ynthrepic,
    @ynthrepic@lemmy.world avatar

    That’s honestly just worse if true. How is this not criminal? He doesn’t go to jail unless the state is what he’s ripped off? You know, the one by the people for the people?

    charonn0,
    @charonn0@startrek.website avatar

    The 1st Amendment presents a very high bar for criminal prosecution of speech.

    Viking_Hippie,

    A bar over which he took off into fucking orbit! It’s 100% because of rich, famous, right wing white guy privilege that he isn’t in prison right now.

    charonn0,
    @charonn0@startrek.website avatar

    On the contrary, the more unpopular the speech, the higher the bar.

    Viking_Hippie,

    There’s unpopular and then there’s “no way someone without his immense privilege could ever get away with saying the exact same things without being tried in criminal court.”

    This is without a doubt the latter.

    charonn0,
    @charonn0@startrek.website avatar

    There isn’t even a criminal law to charge them with.

    Viking_Hippie,

    How about harassment? Inciting violence? Reckless endangerment?

    His disgusting crusade against the parents were undoubtedly all of those things and more.

    BobGnarley,

    They will not. This is a civil case its not like he owes the IRS. Man you said that so confidently and its got like 20 upvotes while being so clearly and easily serachable to be proved completely false. Lol this thread is full of morons

    ynthrepic,
    @ynthrepic@lemmy.world avatar

    It may not apply to this case, but it certainly does apply in a wide way.

    There is also this.

    davepleasebehave,

    these days, if you say you are English they will lock you up in jail.

    ynthrepic,
    @ynthrepic@lemmy.world avatar

    What, where?

    davepleasebehave,

    In England

    StupidBrotherInLaw,

    Of all the things that never happened, this didn’t happen the most.

    protist,

    If they know where money is coming from, aren’t there legal mechanisms to take it directly from Valve?

    YeetPics,
    @YeetPics@mander.xyz avatar

    If you read the reviews for it, you can 100% beat the game in about 25-35 minutes and return it for a full refund. I was tempted to do that but I didn’t want to enticed anyone else to buy it who may not play such a game on the devs.

    carl_dungeon,

    But then you could also review bomb it right?

    fellstone,

    I think reviews from users who refunded aren’t counted in the overall score.

    carl_dungeon,

    Too bad- if a game sucks and you return it, you should be score to thumbs down and write a review of why.

    phx,

    They really should be… If you’re refunding because a game is shit then it makes sense to review it as such to warn others

    YeetPics,
    @YeetPics@mander.xyz avatar

    You can do anything if you believe in yourself.

    LinkOpensChest_wav,
    @LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

    Valve allows this?

    rwhitisissle,

    Valve is a soulless corporation that only cares about money. Why wouldn’t they?

    LinkOpensChest_wav,
    @LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

    Yeah true

    ClydapusGotwald,

    Valve allows a lot of games I’d question like the Kyle riddenhouse game or whatever that loser is that went across state borders to shoot people.

    Masterblaster,

    i just don't see how hard it could be to assassinate alex jones. pretty sure 3 or 4 intelligent people could coordinate the whole thing.

    drdiddlybadger,
    @drdiddlybadger@pawb.social avatar

    It wouldn’t be worth it. Better to humiliate him and release the contents of his poorly hidden porn folders.

    Masterblaster,

    i'd rather let his kind know that the american public is done tolerating their shit.

    ClydapusGotwald,

    It’s more complicated than that. Probably best he dies of normal causes so no insane conspiracy’s pop up. Even then that’s too good for him.

    Masterblaster,

    oh no. let his idiot followers think it was a conspiracy. the more riled up they get, the more likely they'll do something stupid that ends with them in prison or dead. no, let's stir the pot.

    docAvid,

    That’s not how things work, though. Sure, some of them would wind up in prison. So? A negligible impact.

    Do you think January 6 was organic? If so, you haven’t been following the investigations. It was an attempted coup, and the more people the extremist right can get riled up and ready to commit violence where directed, the more likely the next attempt is to succeed.

    ClydapusGotwald,

    I don’t think my sanity can tolerate more insane shit. Living in the US sucks.

    Masterblaster,

    i think the next time they grab up torches and pitchforks, the military will intervene. that's probably our best hope since most of the good citizens of the left are cowards. the sooner we get it over with, the sooner this country can go forward.

    docAvid,

    Interesting assumption that the military would not be divided.

    Ottomateeverything,

    the more likely they’ll do something stupid that ends with them in prison or dead

    That would quite possibly also entail them killing random innocent people or indoctrinating more. No thanks.

    Masterblaster,

    we have future generations to think about. can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. we are fast approaching a point of no return. the perfect is the enemy of the good.

    EdibleFriend,
    @EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

    …and take a shit ton of innocent people with them.

    Rookwood,

    That’s how you create a martyr, galvanize a movement, and create mass condemnation against whatever cause you stand for.

    Masterblaster,

    no, that's how you get the point across that we're done with their shit.

    Dkarma,

    This is simply false. His followers are cowards. They will do nothing. .

    Masterblaster,

    how naive

    docAvid,

    Who said they weren’t?

    If some fool killed Jones, his followers would say his name for generations, talking about how he was killed by the deep state for telling the truth. They would spread his words further and more than they do now. People who don’t think much about him, or people who think he’s probably full of shit but like to listen to him for fun, and entertain his ideas a little, would suddenly take him more seriously, becoming followers as well. People who would argue against his lies now, will feel uncomfortable speaking out. For at least a while, anyone who tried to debunk his views would suddenly be painted as disrespecting the dead, at best, and viewed with suspicion. What it’s possible to talk about would shift right, extremism and conspiracy theories becoming more acceptable, facts and reason becoming less so. In the midst of it all, some new spokesperson for the lunatic fringe would rise up and replace him seamlessly.

    And maybe they are cowards, but cowards are motivated by fear, and people motivated by fear often lash out violently.

    jordanlund,
    @jordanlund@lemmy.world avatar

    i just don’t see how hard it could be to assassinate alex jones.

    “No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban.”

    2nd strike. Extending ban from 1 to 3 days.

    Masterblaster,

    how chaotic good of you

    NoIWontPickaName,

    3 or 4? 1 person is with a $300 Walmart hunting rifle could pull it t off.

    People don’t realize how much one dedicated person and a decent rifle can do, especially when no one is expecting it and the assassin doesn’t care about their future or anything but their objective

    Hell do it dc sniper style, park a car and modify the trunk.

    No one would see anything but an empty car parked down the block from his house or office.

    ahornsirup, (edited )
    @ahornsirup@sopuli.xyz avatar

    To the best of my knowledge Valve allows basically everything that’s not outright illegal. They aren’t nearly as much of a “good” corporation as they’re often framed as. They’ll happily provide a platform for and take their 30% from anyone, including racists, misogynists, homophobes, etc.

    TheObviousSolution,

    Unless it pisses off the Chinese government, like the game Devotion that was released from a Taiwanese developer. But I don’t think Steam has a high ground so much as it has good PR while not being extremely greedy. In contrast, GOG also removed it, which sort of discredited any high ground they had.

    LinkOpensChest_wav,
    @LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

    This is too bad, but yes. They are like any other large corporation, I suppose – motivated primarily by greed.

    Ottomateeverything,

    Valve allows basically everything that’s not outright illegal

    While true, and I agree it’s the right thing to do, some things like this and the Rittenhouse game are in a weird murky gray area where one could argue that it’s inciting violence etc. And if that someone is a lawyer, they could convince a judge/jury that it is illegal.

    I agree that they should allow anything that isn’t illegal, but people say this like it’s black and white, and legality very much is not black and white.

    Asayhem,

    Or maybe they don’t see it’s their place to gatekeep the store based on their own morals. If you start - where do you draw the line? Some examples like such games may be obvious, but there will be a lot more that are less so.

    If people disagree with the message - nobody forces them to buy it after all and you can block any game from even showing up for you in the store, in my opinion it’s plenty enough from the valve’s part. I’d rather be the judge myself as to what I want and what I don’t want to see and play, rather than any corporation.

    Drivebyhaiku,

    I find the “where do you stop” argument to be riddled with holes. Laws are essentially written to explicitly outline boundries and moderation policies are basically just internal laws. Like Canadian law has very specific laws regarding what constitutes hate speech, here is what that looks like.

    First you outline protected grounds. In Canada this is race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability and conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted. (note: pardons are only available via democratic votes or through appeals in Canada)

    There’s a stage where you determine what context stuff is in. Like whether it is being performed publicly or privately but marketing a video game is definitely publicly so in tgis context we can skip to it’s last part where you explicitly define hate speech. Hate speech is rhetoric that :

    • Describes group members as animals, subhuman or genetically inferior
    • Suggests group members are behind a conspiracy to gain control by plotting to destroy western civilization
    • Denying, minimizing or celebrating past persecution or tragedies that happened to group members
    • Labelling group members as child abusers, pedophiles or criminals who prey on children Blaming group members for problems like crime and disease
    • Calling group members liars, cheats, criminals or any other term meant to provoke a strong reaction including usage of known slurs in the context of intended harm to group members.

    These rules likely wouldn’t touch some hateful rhetoric that sneaks through under the wire disguised in very abstracted metaphor but it creates a pretty distinct pass fail bar that would catch explicit hate speech on their platform.

    NoIWontPickaName,

    By those rules we can’t even criticize Hamas or Houthis

    Drivebyhaiku,

    Yes you can.

    Those groups are not fully in religious in nature but represent in part a political movement with a history of violence. As long as the ire is not placed on the entirety of the faith, a particular sect that is enacting it’s ideology based on violence is not a criticism based from the religion but by the actions of the group as a political and military force. Still not cool to infer they are genetically inferior or sub human or even that they are all pedophiles or something but the fact that they have been actually commiting specific crimes as an organized group means that they are free game to be critiqued for their crimes.

    You can also actively critique the writings and dogma of a religion itself but the hate speech portion doesn’t kick in until imply that the people who follow it are mentally ill, inferior, predisposed to crime or all going to enact all the practices listed in their holy texts that represent a modern illegal practice etc. etc. etc.

    There is a distinction between nationality and government/ politics as well. You can absolutely exercise free critique of someone as long as it is not based on the criteria of their national origin. As long as you stick to talking about the facts of what specific individuals or political groups have actually been accredited as doing you are in the clear.

    Schmidtster,

    They used to disallow adult games, they don’t allow NFT or crypto.

    They have drawn plenty of lines, and moved them when it benefits them. They are just like any other corporation, they just hide it really well and the fans forgive or hide the rest for them.

    Hominine,
    @Hominine@lemmy.world avatar

    Didn’t they also rule against AI artwork? Seems that where their pocket book and legal worries are concerned, Valve treads lightly. Moral concerns and societal obligations? Not so much.

    Schmidtster,

    They also told a dev to stop developing a game since if they gave the go ahead Nintendo could potentially go after them.

    They care about money more than anything else, just like any other corporation.

    SpeakinTelnet,
    @SpeakinTelnet@sh.itjust.works avatar

    Are you talking about the dolphin emulator per chance?

    Ashen44,

    No, someone was developing a fan demake of a valve game for the Nintendo 64, and since the tools to develop a game for the Nintendo 64 aren’t legally available and it’s being used for valve’s IP then nintendo would be able to go after valve.

    NoIWontPickaName,

    All right, I’m not great on coding but surely you can make your own tool that can compile into a game that can get a Nintendo 64 to work without using Nintendo’s tools which I am assuming is the problem

    Schmidtster,

    There is open source tools, but to port everything over would take too much time.

    PopOfAfrica,

    Thats a really silly take IMO. How could Nintendo goes after valve (a third party).

    It sounds like Portal 64 would simply have legal claims for both Valve and Nintendo against the developer.

    Schmidtster,

    The issue is the dev asked Valve for permission, so if they give the go ahead Nintendo has a case that valve condoned and allowed it.

    If the dev used the open source tools it wouldn’t matter, they used the proprietary Nintendo tools that aren’t publicly available.

    baggins,

    Pretty sure they’re talking about Portal 64

    Schmidtster,

    Portal 64, they used the non open source code/tools, so Nintendo does have a bit of a case, hence why they are hesitant to give permission after the dev asked them.

    One of those if they never asked, probably wouldn’t be an issue since valve never “knew of it”.

    PoastRotato,
    @PoastRotato@lemmy.world avatar

    I don’t think you need to care about money more than anything else to realize that avoiding a potential lawsuit from a notoriously litigious and powerful company is a wise decision

    Schmidtster,

    They could have given a different answer, or worked with them to find a solution, but they went with the cheapest and easiest.

    As I said earlier, fans excuse and hide the rest.

    rabiddolphin,
    @rabiddolphin@lemmy.world avatar

    NFT and crypto would shoehorn in on their gun skin casino they market to children

    ahornsirup,
    @ahornsirup@sopuli.xyz avatar

    The problem with that is that providing a platform and a revenue stream is providing support. Whatever the intent is, that is the result. The issue isn’t what I see on the Steam store, it’s providing a platform at all.

    And yes, obviously there’s the question of where to draw the line. But not drawing one at all means providing support for the Alex Joneses of the world. There’s no way around that. And I don’t think that that’s a worthwhile trade.

    GilgameshCatBeard,

    Why not? It’s not like the kids are going to boycott them. Boycotts are only for easy to refuse things. Or things that sound good in a instagram post.

    Not for actual thinks they like and can’t live without.

    LinkOpensChest_wav, (edited )
    @LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

    Edit: Nvm I understand now!

    GilgameshCatBeard,

    Valve allowing that dingus to sell a game while refusing to pay his victims families?

    Sounds like a good reason to boycott to me.

    But no one will.

    LinkOpensChest_wav,
    @LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

    Oh, I understand now! Yes, that would be an excellent reason for a boycott, but it never works because people never seem to be willing to sacrifice even the smallest amount of convenience for the greater good. I’d be in, and a lot of others probably would be too, but how does one even organize something like that? I think that’s another part of the problem. For a boycott to work, it has to be well planned and organized.

    NoIWontPickaName,

    I boycott Nestlé, and I have ran into someone in the world who does the same.

    So in my little town if there is a chance that the two of us ran into each other at the same Walmart, right as I was explaining to my kid why we couldn’t buy that type of bottled water, I think that there are a bunch of us boycotting nestle while unorganized.

    Overtime cents add up to dollars, even if we can’t bring them down, we can still help them not grow as quickly.

    GilgameshCatBeard,

    Exactly my thoughts. Well said. Though, under normal circumstances, people would be absolutely outraged by this and the shockwave would be spreading across all platforms to boycott immediately-

    but mUh gAmEz?!

    So…. It won’t happen.

    FlexibleToast,

    That’s how boycotts have always worked. Boycotts have only been successful when people already didn’t like the thing they were boycotting.

    GilgameshCatBeard,

    ROFL…. So boycotts are only for people who lack the balls to stand up against the things they like?

    FlexibleToast,

    Yes and no. They’re obviously more universal, but historically, they only actually work against things people already don’t like.

    GilgameshCatBeard,

    True… god I hate people so much.

    sandwichfiend,

    @politics @GilgameshCatBeard Hate is a pretty strong world

    Pratai,

    You’re stalking me now? I’ve reported all of your spam comments- including the ones you deleted.

    NoIWontPickaName,

    I looovvveee tollhouse cookies, crunch bars, KitKats and stouffer’s French bread pizzas but I still don’t buy them, even though they are like the only people to make a wide range of frozen dinners, and I am not even a little bit salty about it, definitely, not at all…

    So yeah, some people do stick to their morals over creature comforts.

    Even when it really sucks.

    I did just remember Schwann’s is a thing though, so maybe nestle is good for something at least.

    FlexibleToast,

    And you’re just one person. Clearly, your boycott is ineffective against Nestlé. Nestlé seems to be doing fine.

    PM_Your_Nudes_Please,

    I mean, it’s just a game. The shitty part isn’t on Steam’s side; It’s on Alex hiding funds and refusing to pay for the lawsuits he lost.

    PopOfAfrica,

    Not sure this is a valve problem. The courts are simply going to have to seize his assets.

    Pratai,

    This is an absolutely a valve problem.

    GeneralEmergency,

    Valve will allow anything if they can profit from it.

    Daft_ish,

    War is profitable. So I hear.

    EdibleFriend,
    @EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

    I mean… Half the games on steam are about war

    ItsAFake,

    https://lemmus.org/pictrs/image/e8cbe127-dcc9-4be3-9a15-414d2800be32.webp

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • politics@lemmy.world
  • DreamBathrooms
  • InstantRegret
  • osvaldo12
  • magazineikmin
  • mdbf
  • rosin
  • Youngstown
  • thenastyranch
  • slotface
  • cisconetworking
  • khanakhh
  • kavyap
  • ngwrru68w68
  • ethstaker
  • JUstTest
  • everett
  • modclub
  • cubers
  • Durango
  • anitta
  • tester
  • GTA5RPClips
  • tacticalgear
  • normalnudes
  • megavids
  • Leos
  • provamag3
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •