The U.S. Air Force is running recruitment ads on the YouTube channel of toxic conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Media Matters observed an Air Force ad on May 8 that ran on a video posted to Jones’ channel the previous evening:
Clicking on the ad led to a video posted on the YouTube channel of U.S. Air Force Recruiting, the description of which reads, “Special Ops Airmen are the Air Force’s elite ground combat force. They’re trained and equipped to engage with enemy combatants and high-value targets.”
The ad's placement on the video means that Jones’ operation is receiving taxpayer money via YouTube’s advertising platform.
After Jones spread conspiracy theories about both the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and the survivors of the attack, CNN reported that many advertisers whose ads were running on Jones’ videos contacted YouTube to ensure they stopped, with some advertisers telling CNN that they had been unaware it was happening. Since CNN’s report, Media Matters has documented ads on Jones’ channel from the National Rifle Association and from a joint fundraising committee operated by the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign.
Jones routinely engages in violent rhetoric and calls high-profile tragedies false flag events that he says are orchestrated by the government or nebulous globalist forces. Perhaps most infamously, he called the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting an “inside job” and a “giant hoax,” along with making other false claims about the attack. He has faced multiple defamation lawsuits in recent months for spreading falsehoods about innocent people and most recently was sued by three Sandy Hook parents.
There’s seemingly no limit to the number of conspiracy theories Jones will push. He's even made false claims about the Air Force. During his May 3 broadcast, Jones implicated the Air Force and other branches of the military in a supposed plot by the United Nations to ignite a race war to overthrow the U.S. government and seize control of the country: