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Twitter Bans Jones, 'Infowars,' Citing Abuse

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FILE- Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., after listening to Facebook and Twitter executives testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on foreign influence operations and their use of social media, Sept. 5, 2018. Twitter said Sept. 6 that it was permanently banning right-wing conspiracy theorist Jones and his "Infowars" show for abusive behavior.
FILE- Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., after listening to Facebook and Twitter executives testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on foreign influence operations and their use of social media, Sept. 5, 2018. Twitter said Sept. 6 that it was permanently banning right-wing conspiracy theorist Jones and his "Infowars" show for abusive behavior.

Twitter has permanently banned far-right media personality Alex Jones for violating its policy against "abusive behavior."

Jones, who is known as a conspiracy theorist, has about 900,000 followers on Twitter. His Infowars website has hundreds of thousands of followers, as well.

Twitter accused Jones of violating its policy after he was seen on television berating and insulting a CNN reporter waiting to enter congressional hearings on social media policies.

Jones called the reporter a smiling "possum caught doing some really nasty stuff" and also made fun of his clothes.

Twitter had previously suspended Jones' account, but now he is banned from posting on the social media site.

Jones has yet to comment.

Jones is one of the country's most controversial media figures, known for saying the President George W. Bush White House was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He also called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre a fake. Some of the parents of the murdered children are suing Jones.

The congressional hearings were focused on whether such social media sites as Google and Facebook are prepared against fake foreign accounts that may be aimed at influencing U.S. elections.

The hearings came just after President Donald Trump accused Google's search engine of being biased against him.

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