When Misinformation becomes Disinformation

Seeking a solution to events beyond current public knowledge, some embrace wholly speculative methods. What some may term "proven" evidence of nefarious action is often speculation and bias. Their methods do not require legal evidence, nor even credible assessment based on the known facts. Conspiracy does occur; nefarious actions are present on the evidentiary record in some cases. Yet this does not substantiate the assertions Alex Jones contends about nearly every newsworthy event. He makes definitive statements without definitive proof; his misplaced self-assurance without evidence is most troubling.

"I kept telling, they're getting ready to false flag, and it happens in Harry Reid's district, right in his state, right in his city, with his police department. You can bet your bottom dollar by this afternoon yours truly (Alex Jones) will be blamed for the two dead cops." i (Alex Jones)

Unfortunately, the hundreds of data points Jones' claims to possess are not listed or proven. Little beyond guessing actually supports his "false flag" claims. No conclusive proof, similar to his data points is offered. Jones instead bases his grand claims upon a few pieces of data that is not relevant to proving his claim. These ideas resemble many things, but feasible is not among them.  

Jones first offers the crime's occurrence in Senator Harry Reid's district as relevant. Perhaps if the gun laws in that district are sufficiently lax it would be support for the crime's occurrence. Yet Reid has nothing to do with the crime based upon the current evidence. Jones again contends Reid's location in a state or city is somehow definitive proof, it remains irrelevant without evidence to offer its connection to the crime.

The most unproven claim Jones offers is "with his police department". This is blatant disinformation. The local police do not report to the Senator, they are not his, they are legally charged with protecting their jurisdiction. Jones ignored the actual evidence of the case and attributes nefarious action despite the available facts. In my view Jones may believe the speculations he espouses, yet this does not confer validity to his claims.

Jones seemingly perpetual reliance on his importance to events requires massive amounts of speculation. He claims he "will be blamed" for the death of two police officers. Even if authorities were irresponsible and unethical enough to blame someone else for the crime, it would likely have been someone in the same city at the time. Just because the killers ascribed to Jones speculation based methods does not infer Jones should be blamed for the murders. Despite Jones' beliefs he was not blamed, in fact he is irrelevant to the crime. Some instead should blame him for offering misinformation to those he asserts to help and inform.

"Whether this is staged or whether this is organic mind control of the sick culture...", "...a talk show host stated Alex Jones is calling for violence, just in the last month, he's gonna cause killings and all the  rest of it. Don't be with him when I'm calling for not killing people...I told you it was coming, I know the move, and I will tell you next..."( show break for commercials) Every major foundation of the Republic is being dismantled in front of our eyes. NATO is in command of the US military publically. (Alex Jones)

Jones then connects four modern shootings with "Batman" connections. However, this is not a reliable way to investigate or quantify these crimes. No major news source has stated what Jones claims. He is seemingly a suspect only by his own assertions. While many deplore the unsubstantiated claims Jones contends, they do not blame him for unrelated crime.

Some of the major foundations of our democratic Republic are under political attack by unreasoning officials. Yet that does not imply the cataclysmic accusations Jones makes. Jones asserts he is aware of a possible series of future attacks he will reveal after the commercial break. This is referred to as a "teaser" in the entertainment business. It keeps the viewer watching the commercials and remains to hear the next show segment.

Jones claims the United Stated military is commanded by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, this is not true. NATO is a collective defense agreement of member countries. It is clearly defined under NATO founding document the North Atlantic Treaty. Article five of the NATO treaty states "The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack on all of them...each of them , in exercise of the of the right of individual or collective self defense...ii.

"This Treaty shall be ratified and its provision carried out by the Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional processes..." "the Parties shall, if any of them so requests, consult together for the purpose of reviewing the Treaty...iii. After the Treaty has been in force for twenty years, any Party (Member Nation) may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Government of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice..." iv. Thus, membership is not compulsory, NATO's founding treaty does not override the Constitution of the United States which grants War powers to the Congress. The President of the United States, and many in the chain of command all have greater authority than NATO regarding American forces.

"Homeland Security now says their mission has nothing to do with Al Qaeda or Muslim extremists it has to do with the Tea Party who will launch police killing terror attacks any minute, with no evidence of that, now its beginning. Two plus two equals four..." (Alex Jones) 

The Department of Homeland Security in my view was a costly and unnecessary measure after 911. America possessed various existing agencies that may have been endowed with resources. Officials might have spared the years of retraining and appointment of another redundant cabinet official. Jones however does not qualify his accusations being his view, but the asserted truth.

Additionally, the repeated domestic attacks are just one of the many aspects of national defense. The policy change Jones asserts is supported merely by his unsubstantiated contentions. Two plus two is indeed four, and speculation no matter how misrepresented as correlation is not evidence, nor truth. Jones assertion that officials present no evidence is ironic considering his related unsupported statements. 

"The Borders are wide open, tens of millions are flooding here as we speak, hundreds of thousands a month, pouring over the borders, being given driver's licenses in California to pull the lever to ban guns...we are in the middle of a globalist revolution against this country right now. My gut, tells me, that the cold-blooded, degenerate, evil killing of two police officers and a citizen in Las Vegas, yesterday is absolutely staged. Because one way or another the sick culture of death and destruction porn. That Hollywood sells to the narcissistic masses was responsible for manipulating the mental illness of these individual and others, or, and this is the much more likely analysis. This was staged. There is so much proof of this being staged...my mind exploded with hundreds of data points, and quite frankly it's conclusive..." (Alex Jones)
 
Jones then conflates the illegal alien border problems with the shooting. He states this is a vast conspiracy to allow illegal aliens to vote against American constitutional rights. He terms this a "globalist revolution". Globalists are one of the bogeyman terms Jones uses to contain his various ideas. The forces of globalism Jones and others believe seek a tyrannical one world government and state. Endless speculations wrapped inside a massive untenable conspiracy.  Each offered with no substantial proof and verified by Jones alone as "facts".

Now having by his weak standard answered the main question, Jones seeks to blame Hollywood for "the sick culture of death and destruction porn." Sold to the "narcissistic masses" which I assume Jones considers most Americans, is "responsible for manipulating the mental illness of these individuals and others". This ridiculous connection offered by Jones absolves everyone of responsibility for his or her actions. Humans are not mindless drones; despite their intellectual capacity, we are all capable of decisions and basic reasoning. Our culture is what collectively we as a nation allow it to become. Hollywood is waning, the film industry stranglehold of Old Hollywood does not dictate, nor impress as it once did. We are responsible for our actions; to blame entertainment for human neurosis is not reasonable.

Additionally I support our right to bear arms for defense and hunting, yet I too support reasonable limitations. Most Americans advocated mental health checks for gun ownership, and still it failed in Congress. Perhaps we might prevent future crimes by a simple general requirement used in some official and corporate hiring policies. The power to deal life and death with ease should not be obtained easily; I offer a similar contention regarding driver's licenses.    

Jones contends that it was fate due to Hollywood or that a horrendous event was staged both furthering a globalist agenda. However, Jones assures the viewer it was staged. He bases his methods of analysis upon "hundreds of data points" jargon or what most refer to as guessing. He presents no evidence, no critique of any single primary source occurs. With endless news sources, law enforcement information, and his team of employees, Jones fails to prove his grand claims with facts. The only conclusive thing regarding his assertions is they remain without corroborating evidence. 

"I said they are going into restaurants and start shooting police, they are going into Wallmarts and start shooting people, they are going to go in movie theaters and going to start shooting people and its going to be blamed on the Tea Party and the quote, unquote super patriots. Word for word within hours of this happening it was in the news with no proof that they were right wing Tea Party patriots. Then, today they are saying we need homeland security to go after anyone that criticizes the government, while the government has been captured by foreign banks, criminally stealing tens of trillions per quarter in banker bailout money to private megabanks, bankrupting us with Obamacare by design, you name it." (Alex Jones)

Unfortunately, for Jones these claims are easily contended by sources of greater credibility. Secondary media sources rely on significantly less bias and speculation. Jones states most of the American media had no proof regarding these murderers, nor their previous affiliations. A local newspapers interviewed the couple's neighbors who stated they possessed "a reputation for spouting racist, anti-government views, bragging about their gun collection, and boasting that they'd spent time at Cliven Bundy's ranch during a recent standoff there..." v.

Police reportedly found Nazi Swastika symbols in the apartment. This would possibly infer these two radicals were aligned with modern hate groups. In just over five years, hate killings have become a disgustingly regular occurrence. "They were handing out white power propaganda and were talking about doing the next Columbine." All the neighbors interviewed in one local news article stated they were associated with Cliven Bundy. vi. These are not just random speculations, such as Jones repeatedly offers, these are people who met and lived in close proximity to the murderers.

Reportedly, perhaps a thousand witnesses were nearby the actual shooting rampage. One witness stated, "I don't feel safe anymore." We can never account for the loss of life; those victims are beyond the safety of justice. Yet relative safety is a requirement for civil society. The murders are the focus of this case. Yet lost upon many is the chilling effect of the repetition of these senseless tragedies. Murder has no statute of limitations, justice is ever seeking those responsible. 

Yet no one repeatedly addressed these people and their violent and impossible ideas. In the modern age most are too busy to note these fringe mentalities in their midst. When they do, many just watch and record them. Privacy is a constitutional right, yet the limitations of this right do not extend into illegal and violent plots. If one publicly and repeatedly offers to undertake violent actions, they are a threat. The manner in which these two engaged officials was not revolutionary. It was cowardly.

To execute people in a restaurant and store based upon any belief is merely homicidal madness. These are crimes thriving on the distorted reflection of politics. Scorched earth politics creates a self-assured mentality that can become dangerous as the public fringe rejoices in fresh hyperbole. Diplomacy and peaceful protest is difficult, it is always easier to threaten and brandish arms to authority. In modern times, forcing officials to account for their actions publicly has always ushered greater change than violent opposition.

During the President's (Warren) Commission, J. Lee Rankin warned the Commissioners of the grave threat of enduring hyperbolic politics. "communities can be like people, and if you let those forces work long enough it will have an effect upon their approach to many problems, and it may be something that the country should be well aware of ". vii. Many in America never heard or read those important words. We still endure the chilling effect of political rhetoric and those willing to kill for it.  

While Jones has an expansive fan base, they are only a captive audience to his speculation. Unfortunately, the expansive use of misinformation in some instances becomes disinformation. This bias prevents some Jones reporting ideas and facts that contend his beliefs. Akin to fringe religious claims, Jones and those who believe him cause unproven ideas to become more widely accepted. These ideas are devoid of substantial evidence to support them.   

In my view, these modern acts are a microcosm of prior murderous politics. They reveal the acceleration of some accepting speculative information despite the evidence. In modern times, the speculation of some news anchors, conspiracy advocates, critics, and officials has clouded each case. Proven recent events were already subject to speculation, misinformation, and transform into disinformation. Intentional vain speculations made to serve those who believe in such things. We cannot allow speculation to overrun reasonable deduction and evidence.

Sincerely,

C. A. A. Savastano

http://tpaak.com/


i. The Alex Jones Show, Monday June 9, 2014, infowars.com

ii. The North Atlantic Treaty, Article 11, April 4, 1949, www.nato.int

iii. Ibid, Article 12

iv. Ibid, Article 13

v. Brian Nordli, Kyle Rorink, Joe Schoenmann, (June 30, 2014), Shooters Identified in slaying of Metro Police officers, bystander, The Las Vegas Sun, lasvegassun.com  

vi. Ibid

vii. President's Commission Executive Session, January 27, pp. 198-199

Carmine, I like your thinking, as usual. Very sound critique and expose'. But I would guess that your topic here should be in another area of the forum (not JFK in other words). I'm frankly ambivalent about it, mostly because the subject matter is very important to me also, and the greater likelihood of it's being seen in this section. So I consider myself recused on the matter (due to my bias about the subject matter) other than to bring up the obvious issue for consideration and discussion by you and others.

Perhaps Jones is a disinfo agent? He might be trying to discredit conspiracy believers.

dwdunn(akaDan) wrote:Carmine, I like your thinking, as usual. Very sound critique and expose'. But I would guess that your topic here should be in another area of the forum (not JFK in other words). I'm frankly ambivalent about it, mostly because the subject matter is very important to me also, and the greater likelihood of it's being seen in this section. So I consider myself recused on the matter (due to my bias about the subject matter) other than to bring up the obvious issue for consideration and discussion by you and others.

FWIW, there are a couple of threads on Jones in the Cults, Quacks and the New Age Movement forum. It may be best to move this one to the same forum so that are are all together and not spread between forums? 

This is just a suggestion and I'm happy for it to stay here if that is what is decided by Hasan (since Dan has recused himself). Not a major issue either way in this particular instance.

greg parker wrote:

FWIW, there are a couple of threads on Jones in the Cults, Quacks and the New Age Movement forum. It may be best to move this one to the same forum so that are are all together and not spread between forums? 

This is just a suggestion and I'm happy for it to stay here if that is what is decided by Hasan (since Dan has recused himself). Not a major issue either way in this particular instance.

This article would find a perfect home in the other thread along with Coogan's marvelous (& humorous) posts but it might be more effective to allow it to remain here as there are a lot of searchers and neophytes to the field who actually have a rosy opinion of Mr. Jones. Having the thread a bit more visible might be considered a public service.

That said, I wonder if he actually believes any of the blather he produces or - like some modern day PT Barnum - does he only jump around excitedly to entertain the flock?

It's settled then -- it's fresh and important, and can be moved anytime later, where it will form part of a set on the same topic. As long as there are no further objections ... oops, I forgot, I recused myself

Thanks for the comments. I am more than happy to have the article where admin and members think it best. My main correlation to the case of JFK was that Jones feeds the hyperbolic politics just as groups like the John Birch Society once did. It seems like some things never change.

I agree, Carmine. The radicalization of the Right that we've seen, "coincidentally" occurring alongside the presidency of Obama, is eerily similar to what happened during Kennedy's presidency, culminating in the GOP being taken over by the Goldwater faction. Now it's "the Tea Party" faction taking over.

greg parker wrote:This is just a suggestion and I'm happy for it to stay here if that is what is decided by Hasan (since Dan has recused himself). Not a major issue either way in this particular instance.

I'm perfectly fine with the thread staying here, Greg.