The Daily

Listen to ‘The Daily’: Putting ‘Fake News’ on Trial

Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist who founded the website Infowars, has spread the bogus claim that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 was a government-backed invention to usher in gun legislation.Credit...Ilana Panich-Linsman for The New York Times

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The Daily Poster

Listen to ‘The Daily’: Putting ‘Fake News’ on Trial

The families of some Sandy Hook victims are suing Alex Jones of Infowars for defamation, bringing the issue of “fake news” to the courts.

The families of children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012 are suing a conspiracy theorist who claims the massacre was a hoax. Their lawsuits are bringing the issue of “fake news” to the courts.

On today’s episode:

Elizabeth Williamson, a reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times.

Background reading:

• The families of eight Sandy Hook victims, as well as an F.B.I. agent who responded to the massacre, are suing the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation. Relatives of the victims have received death threats from those who embrace the falsehoods Mr. Jones has propagated on his website Infowars, which has an audience of millions.

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Elizabeth Williamson contributed reporting.

“Putting ‘Fake News’ on Trial” was produced by Annie Brown, with help from Theo Balcomb, and edited by Lisa Tobin.

“The Daily” is produced by Theo Balcomb, Annie Brown, Jessica Cheung, Paige Cowett, Lynsea Garrison, Michael Simon Johnson, Andy Mills, Rachel Quester, Ike Sriskandarajah and Clare Toeniskoetter, with editing help from Larissa Anderson. Lisa Tobin is our executive producer. Samantha Henig is our editorial director. Brad Fisher is our technical manager. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

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