Advertisement

Google pulls Infowars from the Play Store over coronavirus misinformation

More than a year and a half after YouTube booted Alex Jones' official channels.

Alex Wong via Getty Images (Engadget)

In 2018, several internet services decided to pull channels from Alex Jones and his Infowars setup, including YouTube and Apple's App Store, but until now the company's app remained available via the Google Play Store. While conspiracy theories and lawsuits from parents who said he'd lied about them and their children weren't enough to earn Jones the boot, Wired reports that the final straw came after Jones published a video disputing quarantine and social distancing efforts meant to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Google and other companies have banded together to combat misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, and in a statement a spokesperson said "Now more than ever, combating misinformation on the Play Store is a top priority for the team." The only question left is why they waited so long to do something that seemed inevitable from the start.