As executives from Facebook and Twitter prepare to discuss topics including political censorship during hearings Wednesday on Capitol Hill, right-wing media personality Alex Jones said he wants to offer his own perspective to lawmakers in light of being punted off some of the internet’s biggest platforms.
“Why do I never get to testify?” Mr. Jones asked Tuesday during a phone interview with The Washington Times. “You’re going to sit there and lie about me in Congress, and say things that I never said, and I’m not going to get to have any representative or anybody there.”
The controversial Infowars publisher made the comments on the eve of committees in the House and the Senate hosting Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, and Jack Dorsey, chief executive of Twitter, during hearings where lawmakers are expected to address topics including political censorship, particularly after President Trump recently accused Silicon Valley of suppressing conservative viewpoints.
On the heels of being banned and suspended from Facebook and Twitter, respectively, Mr. Jones told The Times that he wants to share his own experience during an open session with any major committee.
“Since when in America, or any other western country, do you see somebody being the number-one story off and on for a month, and hearings about them, but they’re not invited to the hearings? Because it’s part of the silencing,” Mr. Jones said.
“They don’t want people listening to my show because it’s popular and its true and it’s effective. So they misrepresent who I am with straw men, and mainstream media, and they don’t know want me there to be able to respond,” he added.
Mr. Dorsey and Ms. Sandberg are slated to appear together first Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee prior to the Twitter co-founder testifying solo in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Representatives for the committee’s chairs — Sen. Richard Burr, North Carolina Republican, and Rep. Greg Walden, Oregon Republican — did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Facebook and Google’s YouTube banned accounts connected to Mr. Jones on Aug. 6, and the list of tech companies that have since taken similar action against the Infowars publisher include Apple and Spotify.
Twitter suspended Mr. Jones for seven days last month, and The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Mr. Dorsey had overruled colleagues who wanted the Infowars publisher permanently banned.
“Dorsey understands that he needs a conservative audience as well as his leftist audience, and that this is very, very dangerous precedence taking place of deplatforming people,” Mr. Jones told The Times.
Twitter on Tuesday denounced The Journal’s report as “totally false.”
“Our service can only operate fairly if it’s run through consistent application of our rules, rather than the personal views of any executive, including our CEO,” Twitter’s chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde said in a statement. “We know not every company takes this approach, but for a global, open and public service like ours, we believe it’s critical.”
Mr. Trump was interviewed by Mr. Jones in 2015, and his former campaign adviser, Roger Stone, is a frequent Infowars contributor.
“Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed,” Mr. Trump tweeted last week.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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