These are exciting times for Roger Stone, Alex Jones,
the Alt-Right and others who might normally be
relegated to the fringes of American politics.
Conspiracy theorists are on the national stage
like never before.
I don't like them putting chemicals in the water that
turn the freakin' frogs gay!
Alex Jones is the premier voice in the 9/11 Truth Movement,
which argues that the attacks of September 11 were an inside job.
Everybody should investigate 9/11 and find out who's
really behind it. It's Bush's and the New World Orders' Reichstag.
He also believes, among other things, that the Sandy
Hooky Massacre was a hoax.
The official story of Sandy Hook has more holes in it
than Swiss cheese.
His network, InfoWars, bills itself as the sole truth-
teller in a sea of liberal lies.
And their audience is huge.
On YouTube, their videos have been viewed over
a billion times. To give you some perspective,
that's about four times the view count of NBC
and Fox's YouTube channels.
Trump was able to rally the Republican base partially
by tapping into the huge followings of media
like InfoWars. In December of 2015, Trump went on
Jones' show, paying him a compliment.
Your reputation's amazing! I will not let you down.
You will be very, very impressed. I hope.
Sometimes, a story will originate on InfoWars, and
President Trump will echo it a few days later.
His real name is Barry Soetoro.
His name was Barry Soetoro, and he changed
his name to Barack Hussein Obama.
Jones sent me this audio clip for a recent story I did on
the emerging conspiratorial media.
A global tipping point has been reached.
Humanity is now seeking out information and news
for themselves, not just blindly accepting whatever
the corporate press attempts to shovel down
their throats.
As president, it's clear that Trump is still paying
attention to the conspiracy theories pushed out by
InfoWars. He tweets them.
The voter fraud conspiracy began with an unfounded
claim on social media and then was elevated
by InfoWars.
It is un-controvertible fact that 3 million illegals voted.
The Alt-Right's closest tie to the administration is
through the former Breitbart news chairman and
current White House chief strategist Steve Bannon,
who has described Breitbart as a platform for the
Alt-Right. Breitbart is a 10-year-old, right-wing
website with verticals like Big Hollywood, Big
Journalism and Big Government. They get about 18
million visitors a month, which is 9% of the general
news market. Bannon, who calls himself an economic
nationalist, played a key role in Trump's executive
order banning immigration from seven countries,
provoking the trending #StopPresidentBannon.
Here he is in 2014 skyping into a Catholic conference
in Rome. We are in an outright war against jihadist
Islam, Islamic fascism.
Here he is on Breitbart's radio station. To be brutally
frank, I mean Christianity is dying in Europe, and
Islam's on the rise.
In the era of Trump, Breitbart has essentially become
mainstream media. The proof is beginning to show
itself in tangible ways. Breitbart reporter Julia Hahn,
and national security editor Sebastian Gorka
are joining the Trump White House.
And of course, Bannon is one of Trump's most
trusted advisors. As Breitbart, InfoWars and others
become delegitimized, it will become harder
for Americans to reach a consensus on facts and truth.
The story that Alex Jones, Steve Bannon and President
Trump tell - one of rebellion against elites -
is really the story of an ascendant countermedia
that's no longer on the fringe.
This is Unpresidented, a weekly series, where different
Atlantic writers explore what's going on in this new
era of American politics. Let us know what topics you'd
like us to explore in the comments.
I'm Rosie Gray, and thanks for watching!
