this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2024
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Following his trial for defamation of the families of the children and school staff killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is using Valve Corp.’s Steam, the world’s largest digital distribution platform for PC games, to sell an Infowars-themed video game. Jones claims to have earned hundreds of thousands in revenue from the video game, yet he has refused to pay the Sandy Hook families. Alex Jones: NWO Wars also mirrors and cartoonishly repackages the conspiracy theorist’s regularly violent, hateful rhetoric despite the platform’s policies against hate speech.

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[–] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com 56 points 10 months ago (4 children)
[–] ClydapusGotwald@lemmy.world 50 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Valve allows a lot of games I’d question like the Kyle riddenhouse game or whatever that loser is that went across state borders to shoot people is.

[–] Masterblaster@kbin.social -1 points 10 months ago (4 children)

i just don't see how hard it could be to assassinate alex jones. pretty sure 3 or 4 intelligent people could coordinate the whole thing.

[–] drdiddlybadger@pawb.social 7 points 10 months ago

It wouldn't be worth it. Better to humiliate him and release the contents of his poorly hidden porn folders.

[–] ClydapusGotwald@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It’s more complicated than that. Probably best he dies of normal causes so no insane conspiracy’s pop up. Even then that’s too good for him.

[–] Masterblaster@kbin.social -1 points 10 months ago (3 children)

oh no. let his idiot followers think it was a conspiracy. the more riled up they get, the more likely they'll do something stupid that ends with them in prison or dead. no, let's stir the pot.

[–] ClydapusGotwald@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I don’t think my sanity can tolerate more insane shit. Living in the US sucks.

[–] Masterblaster@kbin.social -4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

i think the next time they grab up torches and pitchforks, the military will intervene. that's probably our best hope since most of the good citizens of the left are cowards. the sooner we get it over with, the sooner this country can go forward.

[–] docAvid@midwest.social 1 points 10 months ago

Interesting assumption that the military would not be divided.

[–] Ottomateeverything@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

the more likely they'll do something stupid that ends with them in prison or dead

That would quite possibly also entail them killing random innocent people or indoctrinating more. No thanks.

[–] docAvid@midwest.social 1 points 10 months ago

That's not how things work, though. Sure, some of them would wind up in prison. So? A negligible impact.

Do you think January 6 was organic? If so, you haven't been following the investigations. It was an attempted coup, and the more people the extremist right can get riled up and ready to commit violence where directed, the more likely the next attempt is to succeed.

[–] Rookwood@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

That's how you create a martyr, galvanize a movement, and create mass condemnation against whatever cause you stand for.

[–] NoIWontPickaName@kbin.social -1 points 10 months ago

3 or 4? 1 person is with a $300 Walmart hunting rifle could pull it t off.

People don’t realize how much one dedicated person and a decent rifle can do, especially when no one is expecting it and the assassin doesn’t care about their future or anything but their objective

Hell do it dc sniper style, park a car and modify the trunk.

No one would see anything but an empty car parked down the block from his house or office.

[–] ahornsirup@sopuli.xyz 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

To the best of my knowledge Valve allows basically everything that's not outright illegal. They aren't nearly as much of a "good" corporation as they're often framed as. They'll happily provide a platform for and take their 30% from anyone, including racists, misogynists, homophobes, etc.

[–] Asayhem@lemmus.org 15 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Or maybe they don't see it's their place to gatekeep the store based on their own morals. If you start - where do you draw the line? Some examples like such games may be obvious, but there will be a lot more that are less so.

If people disagree with the message - nobody forces them to buy it after all and you can block any game from even showing up for you in the store, in my opinion it's plenty enough from the valve's part. I'd rather be the judge myself as to what I want and what I don't want to see and play, rather than any corporation.

[–] Schmidtster@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

They used to disallow adult games, they don’t allow NFT or crypto.

They have drawn plenty of lines, and moved them when it benefits them. They are just like any other corporation, they just hide it really well and the fans forgive or hide the rest for them.

[–] rabiddolphin@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago

NFT and crypto would shoehorn in on their gun skin casino they market to children

[–] ahornsirup@sopuli.xyz 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The problem with that is that providing a platform and a revenue stream is providing support. Whatever the intent is, that is the result. The issue isn't what I see on the Steam store, it's providing a platform at all.

And yes, obviously there's the question of where to draw the line. But not drawing one at all means providing support for the Alex Joneses of the world. There's no way around that. And I don't think that that's a worthwhile trade.

This is too bad, but yes. They are like any other large corporation, I suppose -- motivated primarily by greed.

[–] Ottomateeverything@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Valve allows basically everything that's not outright illegal

While true, and I agree it's the right thing to do, some things like this and the Rittenhouse game are in a weird murky gray area where one could argue that it's inciting violence etc. And if that someone is a lawyer, they could convince a judge/jury that it is illegal.

I agree that they should allow anything that isn't illegal, but people say this like it's black and white, and legality very much is not black and white.

[–] TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

Unless it pisses off the Chinese government, like the game Devotion that was released from a Taiwanese developer. But I don't think Steam has a high ground so much as it has good PR while not being extremely greedy. In contrast, GOG also removed it, which sort of discredited any high ground they had.

[–] rwhitisissle@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Valve is a soulless corporation that only cares about money. Why wouldn't they?

[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca -3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Why not? It’s not like the kids are going to boycott them. Boycotts are only for easy to refuse things. Or things that sound good in a instagram post.

Not for actual thinks they like and can’t live without.

[–] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)
[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Valve allowing that dingus to sell a game while refusing to pay his victims families?

Sounds like a good reason to boycott to me.

But no one will.

[–] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Oh, I understand now! Yes, that would be an excellent reason for a boycott, but it never works because people never seem to be willing to sacrifice even the smallest amount of convenience for the greater good. I'd be in, and a lot of others probably would be too, but how does one even organize something like that? I think that's another part of the problem. For a boycott to work, it has to be well planned and organized.

[–] NoIWontPickaName@kbin.social 2 points 10 months ago

I boycott Nestlé, and I have ran into someone in the world who does the same.

So in my little town if there is a chance that the two of us ran into each other at the same Walmart, right as I was explaining to my kid why we couldn’t buy that type of bottled water, I think that there are a bunch of us boycotting nestle while unorganized.

Overtime cents add up to dollars, even if we can’t bring them down, we can still help them not grow as quickly.

[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca -1 points 10 months ago

Exactly my thoughts. Well said. Though, under normal circumstances, people would be absolutely outraged by this and the shockwave would be spreading across all platforms to boycott immediately-

but mUh gAmEz?!

So…. It won’t happen.