Der Spiegel visited Alex Jones' Infowars studio in Austin and had a chat with the (at times, shirtless) man they branded "Donald Trump's propagandist." (Jones is known for calling gay marriage a global conspiracy "to get rid of God," being a 9/11 truther, suggesting fluoridation is government poisoning of the water supply and claiming the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting were child actors.) A look behind the curtain…
- Jones refers to Infowars HQ as the "Central Texas Command Center and Heart of the Resistance." The water cooler is labeled "Liberal Tears." But it also contains four high-tech broadcast studios to send his message to 3 million people a day, per Jones' claims.
- He's talked with Trump "several times since the election." The topics? "Freedom and our common goal to destroy our enemies." He adds, "We are two saints of the same zeitgeist."
- On immigration: "Please forget the Statue of Liberty. It's a symbol of propaganda. We should stop worshipping it and bending down to every Third World population that shows up with TB and leprosy."
- It's easy to dismiss until you realize that Infowars gets 8 million web visitors each month and Jones has 2 million subscribers on YouTube and more than a million followers on Facebook. His next plan: open a 10-person bureau in Washington with full White House coverage.