Let me get this straight: he accused grieving families of lying about their children's deaths, and put a target on their backs, to sell stuff...and he didn't believe his own bullshit?

Yeah, especially because he contradicted himself several times, it doesn't seem like he believed it. He's really committed to trolling.

Labeling someone a "troll" for that level of evil feels enabling to me.

Saying that he actually believes his grift can make him seem kinda innocent, but I'm not going to assume that's the intent if someone says it.

Saying two different things at two different times is not prima face evidence of lying. For instance: changing your mind is not lying.

Again, I find it ironic that you're using the same conspiratorial line of thinking that Jones himself does: e.g. "The CDC has changed their mask guidance so they must be lying about it"

It was convenient timing for him to call the shootings "100% real" the moment he ended up in court for it.

People often do realize they were wrong about their prior convictions when they're sitting in a courtroom, a decade later, faced with a life changing situation, and forced to hear overwhelming evidence of how they were wrong.

If this guy was some kind of savant, he wouldn't have been in that situation at all. There is no evidence that he is some evil genius. He has no higher education and is a diagnosed narcissist.

> It's a conflict of interest that anyone serious would avoid.

You're putting the logical cart before the horse. The phrase "conflict of interest" by definition implies a perspective of a negative impact on one of said interests. An external observer who doubts what they say might view this as a conflict of interest (rightly so), but from the perspective of someone who genuinely believes the interests are aligned, it is not a conflict.

It's kind of funny but this is exactly some of the logic conspiracy theorists use to discredit authority: "Scientists profit from [vaccines/moon landing/whatever research] so therefore it is a conflict of interest when they [recommend/make policy/teach kids]"

Of course some people lie. But Jones? This guy has been doing this forever, he either is the most talented actor to ever walk the planet, or he is an idiot community college dropout with paranoia and confirmation bias. It is way more likely the latter.

Alex Jones' entire livelihood relies on making these bogus claims and maintaining his following, so I'm not surprised he was able to keep it up. He's also the most famous internet conspiracy theorist among countless others, so yeah I would chalk it up to acting talent.

Everybody's livelihood relies on the thing they do for a living. That's doesn't mean we're all lying.

People with fringe views do actually exist, they aren't all actors.

Most jobs are honest enough, but there are plenty of dishonest ones that people do for the money and not because they think it's right.

I'll bet those people I mentioned who post videos like Alex Jones and only get 10 views, some of them believe it. But they're dull and aren't making money off it. Also plenty of people have a few fringe views and theories, but they aren't claiming something far-fetched every time something happens.

Being successful and wrong doesn't make someone a liar. History books are full of people who were earnestly wrong. There's no way this guy spent 30 years playing a character without once slipping up in any aspect of his personal or professional life. He is not a savant method actor. He's a conspiracy theorist.

He doesn't actually believe God told him Gene Hackman was going to die. Just no. It is an act - and not a good one - designed to make money.