Roku Has Deleted the InfoWars App After Major Backlash

InfoWars, the far-right American conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones, is one of the most controversial channels around.

Roku recently decided to allow two InfoWars streaming apps in its Roku Channel Store and the backlash was swift.

After complaints as well as negative press coverage, the streaming device maker decided to delete the InfoWars app.

Social media websites Facebook, Twitter, and even Apple and YouTube have banned InfoWars content.

In an email to CNBC with the subject line “Roku / InfoWars – WE TOOK IT DOWN,” Roku stated:

After the InfoWars channel became available, we heard from concerned parties and have determined that the channel should be removed from our platform. Deletion from the channel store and platform has begun and will be completed shortly.

Roku spokesman Eric Savitz said to USA TODAY, “We took down both versions last night.” The company’s platform had hosted a channel requiring Infowars subscription authentication “for a number of years” and a new version that did not require authentication had been recently submitted, too.

Roku defended the channel add with the First Amendment at first and had stated, “While the vast majority of all streaming on our platform is mainstream entertainment, voices on all sides of an issue or cause are free to operate a channel,” Roku said in a statement. “We do not curate or censor based on viewpoint.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) and have not been compensated for this article.