Roku Adds Then Drops Infowars After User Outrage

UPDATE: Roku has pulled Infowars from the company's streaming channels in response to the public outcry.

"After the InfoWars channel became available, we heard from concerned parties and have determined that the channel should be removed from our platform. Deletion from the channel store and platform has begun and will be completed shortly," the company said in a tweet.

Original story:

Roku is facing backlash for adding Alex Jones' Infowars show to its platform months after the controversial conspiracy theorist and his program were banned from Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Users have been blasting the company over Twitter since Monday, when the show was added as a Roku channel. Some Roku customers say they plan on dropping the company's TV dongles and going elsewhere for their streaming needs.

"What genius thought adding racist, conspiracy channel Infowars was a good idea?" wrote one user. "Do you have no decency whatsoever?!?!"

Roku told PCMag that the company's goal is to offer viewers a wide range of content, which customers can choose and control. "While the vast majority of all streaming on our platform is mainstream entertainment, voices on all sides of an issue or cause are free to operate a channel," the company said in a statement. "We do not curate or censor based on viewpoint."

Roku is not receiving any funds to distribute the show, the company added. Nor does it have any commercial or advertising relationship with Infowars. But Roku does have policies that "prohibit the publication of content that is unlawful, incites illegal activities or violates third-party rights, among other things," it said.

"If we determine a channel violates these policies, it will be removed. To our knowledge, Infowars is not currently in violation of these content policies," the company added.

That may sound odd, given that YouTube, Facebook, and Apple all decided to ban Alex Jones and Infowars last August for promoting hate speech. A month later, Twitter decided to boot Jones for violating the company's abusive behavior policy.

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Prior to Monday, Infowars had actually been available on Roku for years, but only if the user had authenticated the show through the Infowars website. Why Roku decided to suddenly add the program as a supported channel isn't clear. But the company's attempt to maintain neutrality over Infowars' availability will be tested. Jones has long peddled conspiracy theories, including the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012 was a hoax.

On Tuesday, the parents of the Sandy Hook shooting victims called on Roku to pull the Infowars show immediately. "Roku's shocking decision to carry Infowars and provide a platform for Alex Jones is an insult to the memory of the 26 children and educators killed at Sandy Hook," Josh Koskoff, an attorney representing the families, said in a statement.

"Worse, it interferes with families' efforts to prevent people like Jones from profiting off innocent victims whose lives have been turned upside down by unspeakable loss," he added.

The families have sued Jones for promoting the hoax claim, which they say has led to harassment and death threats against them. Meanwhile, Jones claims the tech industry is practicing censorship against conservative viewpoints.