Why we needed to hear from Alex Jones

Megyn Kelly's interview with Alex Jones created a lot of controversy. Many people did not think it should have been have been aired. I disagree. The public very much needed to hear from Alex Jones. I do not say this because I support Alex Jones; I think that Alex Jones' radio show is contemptible and the people who take him seriously are fools. His conspiracy theories are not just wrong; they are ridiculous. Still, as Kelly pointed out during her interview, Alex Jones "has millions of listeners and the ear of our current president."

Jones is only one of a group of what Viguerie and Franke might call "under-the-radar" media that spread conservative ideas. (N.B.: I do not say that Viguerie and Franke endorse Alex Jones!) Under-the-radar media might include direct mail and fax networks, as well as media that work in plain sight but that liberals and mainstream media figures routinely ignore, such as Before It's News, Breitbart and World Net Daily. Jones may be the loudest, but he is not alone. Millions of people consume - trust - and treasure reports that appear in sources like these. Millions of people trust these sources more than they trust mainstream sources like CNN or the New York Times.

In conversations and private messages, I have repeatedly heard some of my fellow rhetoric scholars either question whether under-the-radar media outlets even exist, or deny that anyone takes them seriously. Consequently, scholars have given them too little examination. A bad mistake. Contrary to 1984, ignorance is not strength. The first step in refuting people like Alex Jones is to know that they exist and that they are important. Under-the-radar media work because mainstream authorities ignore them.

Falsehoods shine only in the darkness.

Kelly's broadcast put MSM viewers on the alert: conspiracy-mongering media are spreading, and the public needs to know more about them. Thanks, Megyn Kelly. We needed to hear your report.


P.S.: My earlier post - the most viewed on my blog - discusses criteria for evaluating conspiracy rhetoric. Real conspiracies do exist, and we need to distinguish real ones from fake ones.