{"id":11752,"date":"2022-08-06T14:39:35","date_gmt":"2022-08-06T14:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/08\/06\/alex-jones-hit-with-45-2-million-defamation-verdict-but-could-pay-much-less\/"},"modified":"2022-08-06T14:39:36","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T14:39:36","slug":"alex-jones-hit-with-45-2-million-defamation-verdict-but-could-pay-much-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/08\/06\/alex-jones-hit-with-45-2-million-defamation-verdict-but-could-pay-much-less\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Jones hit with $45.2 million defamation verdict \u2014 but could pay much less"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/8\/5\/23293411\/alex-jones-punitive-damages-verdict-sandy-hook-defamation<\/a>
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A Texas jury has ordered Alex Jones to pay around $45.2 million for spreading a false conspiracy theory about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The punitive damages come on top of a $4.1 million verdict<\/a> from yesterday, potentially marking a major blow to Jones\u2019s Infowars media empire. But the number could be vastly reduced by limits built into the Texas legal code, which caps damages on defamation punishments.<\/p>\n

The jury handed back its verdict on Friday after hearing testimony about Jones\u2019s finances \u2014 something he\u2019s allegedly taken significant steps<\/a> to obscure. It included an assessment<\/a> that Jones\u2019 company Free Speech Systems was worth at least $130 million; previous testimony indicated its annual revenue in recent years has been $50 million or above. Jones claimed in court that a fine of $2 million or more could \u201csink\u201d Infowars.<\/p>\n

As Bloomberg<\/em> explains<\/a>, Texas law caps punitive damages at twice the level of compensatory economic damages per defendant plus a maximum of $750,000 for non-economic damages. Jones\u2019 attorneys plan to file for a reduction of the fine based on that rule, something the plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys told Bloomberg<\/em> they will \u201ccertainly litigate\u201d if necessary.<\/p>\n

This concludes one of three trials involving the parents of children who were killed at Sandy Hook in 2012, an event Jones and other Infowars employees claimed had been staged. The plaintiffs \u2014 Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin \u2014 had asked for $150 million.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/8\/5\/23293411\/alex-jones-punitive-damages-verdict-sandy-hook-defamation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: A Texas jury has ordered Alex Jones to pay around $45.2 million for spreading a false conspiracy theory about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The punitive damages come on top of a $4.1 million verdict from yesterday, potentially marking a major blow to Jones\u2019s Infowars media empire. But the number could be vastly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-11752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy","category-technology","tag-policy"],"yoast_head":"\nAlex Jones hit with $45.2 million defamation verdict \u2014 but could pay much less - Science and Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/08\/06\/alex-jones-hit-with-45-2-million-defamation-verdict-but-could-pay-much-less\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alex Jones hit with $45.2 million defamation verdict \u2014 but could pay much less - Science and Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Source: A Texas jury has ordered Alex Jones to pay around $45.2 million for spreading a false conspiracy theory about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. 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