InfoWars Royal Islam Hysteria

Those who look in regularly on Zelo Street will notice that I’ve passed adverse comment on the Muslim-baiting pretend journalist that is Paul Watson, who wants his readers and viewers to know that he has his finger on the pulse when it comes to refugees, Europe, and all the terrible things they get up to. Watson now describes himself as an “editor at large” for Alex Jones’ InfoWars, a far-right conspiracy site.

Alex Jones learns he still hasn't won a Cheeto

And the stuff that Jones gets up to puts Watson’s Battersea basement smears in the shade: occupying the same territory on the political spectrum as the convocation of the irredeemably batshit otherwise known as Breitbart, there is no limit to the kinds of fantasist propaganda with which he tries to infect the minds of the frightened and gullible.

To this end, Jones took to the airwaves just two days ago, in the wake of the London attack, claiming to have stood on Westminster Bridge “many times”, before launching into a rant that, like so many Alex Jones rants, bears no relationship to reality. His schtick is that the Scary Muslims (tm) are not only going to take over Britain, they are going to force the Queen to convert to Islam. You think I jest? Well, no I don’t.

“Muslims in London say Queen Elizabeth has to convert to Islam or leave the country” he declared, before claiming that self-promotion artist Tommy Robinson had been confronted by “leftists” who had been “paid” to laugh at “survival instincts”. Worse, “they don’t let you march against radical Islam in England”. Jones is not unique among those Stateside in that he uses terms like “England” and “the UK” interchangeably (wrong).

Paul Watson - fantasist InfoWars hate peddler

So where does Jones get his claim about Islam and the Queen? He cites CNN, but it’s a very poor quality film segment. In any case, taking the views of a handful of Muslims who might well have been taking the piss (converting Buckingham Palace into a Mosque does have the air of a wind-up) and extrapolating it to suggest the view is widespread is total crap. But that is what creeps like Jones feed off.

And where he takes this idiocy is to promote “freedom”, “libertarianism”, “rugged individualism”, and of course “low taxes”. He attracts frightened followers by telling them that “the left has allied with Islam”, and that this is a “classical cult” (which he certainly may be) that wants to control language - they talk foreign, so this scares more of the gullible - and wants you to know that his view is wildly popular, cos he gets on telly.

This might be dismissed by some as no more than the rantings of another feeble-minded conspiracy theorist - which is what they are - but that would be to ignore the disturbing reality about Jones and InfoWars: they feed into the paranoid tradition in American politics, the idea that someone out there wants to take away their freedom (and their guns) by forcing something that is “other” upon them. It’s bullshit, but a lot of people believe it.

So yes, Paul Watson and his pals are ripe for being ridiculed, but they are not just idiots, they are potentially dangerous idiots. And too many gullible folks listen to them.