FACT CHECK: Was Alex Jones’ ‘Flagship Outlet’ Closed by the FCC?

Fact checked
According to senior Infowars staff, widely shared reports that Texas Liberty Radio, a pirate station, is connected to Alex Jones are "not true in any way."

According to senior Infowars staff, widely shared reports that Texas Liberty Radio, a pirate station, is connected to Alex Jones are “not true in any way.”

CLAIM

Texas Liberty Radio, an Austin pirate radio station that was taken off air this week by the FCC, served as Alex Jones’ flagship outlet.

RATING

FALSE

ORIGIN

On 15 August 2018, the Austin local web site Austin American-Statesman posted a report alleging that Infowars host Alex Jones is connected to Texas Liberty Radio, the pirate radio station operating without a license from an Austin apartment complex, and that the pirate radio station serves as his “flagship outlet.”

A pirate radio station that serves as controversial host Alex Jones’ Austin flagship has been knocked off the city’s airwaves – at least temporarily – and the Federal Communications Commission has levied a $15,000 penalty that the station’s operators are refusing to pay.

A lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Austin accuses Liberty Radio of operating at 90.1 FM without federal consent since at least 2013. Religious programming was airing on that frequency Wednesday, in place of Liberty Radio.

While it’s true the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) kicked Texas Liberty Radio off Austin’s airwaves on Wednesday and handed the station’s owners a $15,000 penalty, the link to Alex Jones was never substantiated by the Austin American-Statesman.

Far from being Alex Jone’s “flagship outlet,” the pirate radio is actually operated and owned by an entity linked to Walter Olenick and M. Rae Nadler-Olenick, who are listed as defendants in the federal lawsuit over Texas Liberty Radio.

Alex Jones has said that 160 broadcasters nationwide carry his show. The Genesis Communications Network still carries Alex Jones’ show to affiliates across the country. However it is Infowars.com, a website visited by 10 million people per month according to Wikipedia, that is most accurately described as Alex Jone’s “flagship outlet.”

Far from expressing skepticism about the unsubstantiated Austin American-Statesman allegations, however, the Associated Press published an article that cited Austin American-Statesman’s claims and also misled readers into believing Alex Jones is connected to Texas Liberty Radio and that the pirate station has been operating as his “flagship outlet.”

A number of other unreliable sources, including The Hill and Snopes republished the Associated Press article, further circulating the bogus claim about the pirate radio station and Alex Jones.

The Hill issued a correction to their report on Thursday, downgrading their original claim that Texas Liberty Radio is Alex Jones’ “flagship outlet” and instead stating that Texas Liberty Radio is a “radio station known for its broadcasts of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.”

The Hill article including the following Editor’s note at the end of the article.

Editors’ note: This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. Thursday to reflect that Liberty Radio is a pirate station that rebroadcasts Alex Jones’s programming.

However, the Associated Press and Snopes have not issued corrections.

Infowars editor-at-large, Paul Joseph Watson, replied to a tweet by The Hill, stating that Alex Jones does not own or have any involvement in Texas Liberty Radio.

PJW-liberty-radio

Infowars host Danny Sessom also pointed out that Texas Liberty Radio had only been rebroadcasting Alex Jones’ radio show. Calling it “Alex Jones’ flagship outlet”, he said, was “actual fake news.”

The widely circulated misleading reports come after several large tech companies recently either banned or limited Jones’ ability to use their platforms to share his articles and air his shows. Twitter is the latest company to punish the conspiracy theorist, revoking some of Jones’ privileges after he posted a video calling for viewers to “have their battle rifles ready” in the war against web censors.

Baxter Dmitry

Baxter Dmitry

Baxter Dmitry is a writer at The People's Voice. He covers politics, business and entertainment. Speaking truth to power since he learned to talk, Baxter has travelled in over 80 countries and won arguments in every single one. Live without fear.
Email: baxter@thepeoplesvoice.tv
Baxter Dmitry

3 Comments

    • Yes, I checked out the pictures. I don’t think he is Alex Jones though he looks very similar. But the voice is very, very different. Check it out.

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