The New Yorker:

On March 6th, government officials in Austin, Texas, cancelled South by Southwest, because of COVID-19. Although the cancellation would surely save lives, it would also, the festival’s organizers said in a statement, take a toll on “hundreds of small businesses.” But at least one small business in Austin did not let the crisis go to waste. Infowars is a group of Web sites—a “news” blog, audio and video feeds, an online store—founded by Alex Jones, the nation’s most prolific disinformation agent who does not hold elective office. (One of Jones’s most prominent fans, Donald Trump, once told him, on air, “Your reputation is amazing.”) In a video broadcast the day after South by Southwest was called off, Jones and a guest speculated that the reason was not concern for public safety but rather a “psy-op”—a psychological operation to sow panic and consolidate government power. “Controlling people is a stopgap,” Jones said. “But having antivirals, getting your immune system healthy—that is the answer. And, yes, folks, we sell great antivirals.”

Jones is best known for his paranoid rants, which have brought him some revenue in the form of online ads, but he makes most of his income as a snake-oil salesman. The Infowars store sells hundreds of products, from “nutraceuticals” to “tactical pens” to “survival food” (dried beans and the like, perfect for stocking a bunker). For the past few weeks, nearly every food item has been sold out. A note on the site read, “Our expanded team is focusing on and will deliver the tens of thousands of orders already in our queue as we work diligently through this national emergency together.”

Go to link