The backlash to a coordinated burst of censorship against InfoWars includes non-conservative commentators who warn that Apple, Google, Facebook, and other tech companies have set a precedent to suppress marginalized groups.

Wikileaks suggested a link between these tech giants’ de-platforming of InfoWars and Alex Jones to their criticism of “state power.” The site’s official Twitter account warned that other publishers are certain to face the same treatment, “wiped out for cultural transgression.”

The empire strikes back: Apple, Spotify, Facebook and Google/Youtube all purge Infowars/Alex Jones. Yes, Infowars has frequent nonsense, but also a state power critique. Which publisher in the world with millions of subscribers is next to be wiped out for cultural transgression? https://t.co/XAEQWr58hw — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 6, 2018

Tariq Nasheed, a former pickup artist instructor turned racial grievance podcaster, worried that the same vague “hate speech” standards used to censor Jones could also be used against black commentators.

We have to keep a close eye on this situation where Alex Jones has been banned for youtube. This could be used as justification to arbitrarily ban dozens of Black commentators from social media sites. — Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) August 6, 2018

Journalist and documentarian Tim Pool warned that what he described as Monday’s “coordinated purge” of InfoWars “would set a precedent that the mentally ill and uneducated lose their right to free speech.”

I’m concerned that the argument for banning fake news would set a precedent that the mentally ill and uneducated lose their right to free speech. Free Speech means Alex Jones has the right to lie, the right to be wrong, and the right to be crazy.https://t.co/ijfpyR0vwh — Tim Pool (@Timcast) August 6, 2018

I dont like infowars, I never use them as a source for anything. But I recognize they have a right to say these things. You might not like it but what is the alternative? IQ tests before someone is allowed to speak in public? Will the government be the approved fact checker? — Tim Pool (@Timcast) August 6, 2018

thats right, so how do we solve this problem? How do we stop qanonense without restricting the free speech of the uneducated and mentally ill? Should Youtube only allow people they deem smart? — Tim Pool (@Timcast) August 6, 2018

Pool elaborated on his concerns via YouTube:

I think Infowars is the canary in the coal mine… I’m not really a fan, I don’t like what Infowars does. I don’t like what Alex Jones does. I defend their right to have their channel and say these crazy things for a few important reasons. First of all, people should be allowed to express themselves even if they’re nuts. I mean, let’s entertain the idea that Alex Jones is actually a crackpot tinfoil lunatic, which many people in the mainstream [believe], does that mean that somebody who has something wrong with their mind isn’t allowed to speak? They’re not allowed to use Facebook [or] YouTube? What if somebody is actually mentally ill and they have a YouTube channel, and they start ranting and raving about moon gremlins trying to steal their cheese? Do they have a right to speak? In my opinion, they do. It worries me that we’re trying to draw a distinction between what we think is sane and what should be allowed to be said. I’m particularly concerned about a society where we set a threshold on intelligence and acceptable thought.

Pool warned of an increasing concentration of control among technology companies over the parameters of permissible speech and expression: “It worries me that there’s going to be some kind of big authority, be it the government or a collection of large tech companies that share similar views that determine some people are just not smart enough to speak… It is a concern to me when political discourse can be shaped by these massive near-monopolies.”

He added, “I imagine it like a cliff eroding, and Infowars is the fringe. They are the precipice, and sure enough, the wave keeps crashing against it, and it crumbles. Who’s next in line? I don’t think I’m next in line, but I know that if the cliff keeps eroding, all that will be left is that one solitary peak of mainstream media… I’m concerned that we’re going to develop a culture that says the only acceptable reality is what is espoused from cable news networks. That’s scary.”

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