Amazon is still supporting - and collecting commissions from - Alex Jones' storefront, even after Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify banned far-right radio host
Amazon supports Jones' store, which sells supplements that purport to help with sleep, help digestion, and "create superior male vitality in men."
InfoWars
- Amazon has continued to sell products from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, NPR reported.
- The e-commerce giant receives 15% of all sales of Jones' dietary supplements that exceed $10.
- Facebook, Apple, and YouTube have banned Jones for spreading false theories and hate speech.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Amazon is selling dietary supplements from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has been banned from Facebook and Apple.
Amazon supports Jones' storefront, which sells supplements that purport to help with sleep, help digestion, and "create superior male vitality in men," NPR reported. From third-party stores like Jones', the e-commerce giant receives a 15% "referral fee" on items priced $10 or more, and 8% on items priced lower than $10.
"We don't have comment, but thanks for reaching out," an Amazon spokesperson told Insider in an email when asked why the retailer sells Jones' supplements.
In March 2020, the New York Attorney General ordered Jones to immediately stop selling dietary supplements he claimed to "cure the coronavirus." There is no cure for COVID-19, just vaccines that can slow the spread of the disease and some drugs to help treat it.
Researchers told BuzzFeed News that Jones' supplements are largely overpriced and "ineffective" vitamins, but are not falsely advertised or dangerous. The Food and Drug Administration regulates dietary supplements less strictly than over the counter or prescription medications. As a result, experts told Insider sellers for supplements like vitamin gummies and melatonin pills can get away with false advertising on the product's effectiveness.
Tech companies faced have backlash for allowing Jones - who has notoriously pushed the fake claim that the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was a staged event carried out by actors - to use their platforms. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek defended the company's decision to air podcaster Joe Rogan's episode featuring Jones late last year. Spotify banned Jones from publishing his own content in 2018 due to "repeated violations" of the platform's policy on hate speech.
Facebook banned Jones and InfoWars, the conspiracy-theory website he created, in 2019. Google and Apple removed the InfoWars app on their respective stores for Android and iPhone. YouTube terminated the InfoWars channel and The Alex Jones Channel three years ago.