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Joe Rogan puts Alex Jones, Tim Dillon on his podcast, Internet angry he featured anti-vaxxer during pandemic

Conspiracy theorist Jones has made plenty of problematic claims, including that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax. Dillon on the other hand has made controversial comments on the shooting at Kenosha earlier this year

For fans of American comedian, podcaster, and actor Joe Rogan and his globally popular podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, Tuesday, October 27, was a surprise. Episode 1,555 of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ featured two controversial guests -- conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and comedian Tim Dillon. 

The episode, exceeding three hours in length, already had more than 460,000 views at the time of writing . But given the nature of the guests on the show, many were unhappy. Several people on social media criticized Rogan for providing them, especially Jones, with a platform.

One Twitter user wrote, “Joe Rogan hosted far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his podcast today. They pushed anti-vaxx conspiracies and broadcasted banned Infowars videos. Rogan continuing to platform these far-right sickos is incredibly gross and dangerous.” Another Twitter user said, “Joe Rogan platforming Alex Jones to millions of people a week before this election, and letting Jones propagate Joe Biden smears and pro-Trump propaganda has gotta be one of the worst things he has ever done. I've defended Rogan for a while, but this is unforgivable.” Another Twitter user wrote, “Joe Rogan hosting Alex Jones is so ridiculous, the amount of incomprehensible garbage uttered by a few individuals is astounding. How can you platform a dude who literally harassed the families of shooting victims? F*** hearing ‘both’ sides.”

Why people dislike Jones is fairly well-known. The conspiracy theorist, in the past, has claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting was staged. In fact, Jones is being sued in Austin by the parents of a six-year-old victim of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, who claim the Infowars host used his show to promote falsehoods that the shooting was a hoax. Aside from that, he once claimed that former Fox News host Glenn Beck was a CIA operative. He also once said, “I don't like (the government) putting chemicals in the water that turn the friggin’ frogs gay.”

Jones’ increasingly bizarre rants on his shows have had repercussions. In 2018, Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify removed Jones’ content from their sites. Following that, even Vimeo, Mailchimp, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter disassociated themselves from his brand. So, Jones appearing on Rogan’s podcast (that’s hosted by Spotify) puts things in a weird place.

But who is Tim Dillon? Dillon is a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor, who has had several controversial takes. He hosts a podcast called 'Tim Dillon is Going to Hell'. Some of his comments during the Black Lives Matter protests have received sharp criticism. Case in point, in the aftermath of the shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in late August, commenting on the armed civilians, Dillon had said, “When the police are defunded/abolished this will be the scene is many major cities: militias fighting each other in the street. For those who want that outcome this is good news.”

So, with these two guests on board, it is only likely that people will criticize Rogan’s decision to host them. One Twitter user said, “WTF is wrong with him? There was a time, years ago, when his podcast had some interesting, thought-provoking episodes. Now it's just crazy town, and he has a MASSIVE following. We can officially count his show among the dangerous propaganda outlets in this country.” Another Twitter user said, “Why is Joe Rogan hosting Alex Jones on his show again? This antivax misinfo is dangerous at any time, but especially so during a pandemic.” One Twitter user said, “Joe Rogan having Alex Jones on his podcast in 2020 puts him squarely in the irredeemable column for me. Disgusting.”