Scott Tibbs
Apple is lying to their customers
By Scott Tibbs, June 20, 2022
On a lark, just to see if I could, I tried to add Alex Jones to Apple Podcasts. I was blocked from doing so. Jones does not appear in search. But here is the kicker: You cannot even add a podcast feed directly from the RSS URL. When you try to add the feed directly, Apple Podcasts delivers an error message that they are "unable" to access the feed. (More on that in a bit.)
This is virtue signaling nonsense. You can very easily use a different podcast app to listen to Jones or anyone else banned by Apple's content moderators. Apple's closed system is not stopping a single person from listening to InfoWars on their iPhone or iPad via another app. The only thing it does is prevent them from using Apple's official app.
That is not my primary objection to Apple's policy, though. My primary objection is that Apple just blatantly lies about it. The error message you get when you paste the RSS feed into Apple Podcasts is that the app is "unable" to access the feed. This is a flagrant lie.
No, the app absolutely can access the feed. Other apps can access it, so there is no legitimate reason why Apple Podcasts cannot pull the feed into the player. The truth is that Apple has a policy that does not allow Jones to be played on their app. Apple banned Alex Jones a few years ago for misinformation and "hate speech." Apple joined Google, Spotify, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook in deplatforming Jones. The fact that everyone did it at once strongly suggests collusion, just as when President Trump was deplatformed in 2021.
So why not just be honest about it? Apple could tell their users that they are not allowed to use Appple Podcasts to listen to Jones. Apple could say that the podcast feed is "forbidden" or "not allowed" in the error message. Apple does not have the integrity to do that. Instead, they openly lie to their customers and treat us like we are stupid. This is terrible customer service. Insulting your customers is a bad strategy.
I do not even like Alex Jones. I think his lies about Sandy Hook are a moral abomination. People were harassed by the InfoWars cult when visiting the graves of their murdered children. Jones' promotion of the Pizzagate hoax was pure evil that ruined the lives of innocent people, who were collateral damage in his war against Hillary Clinton. But Apple's behavior makes me want to listen to Jones just to spite Apple. Stop lying to me and treating me like I am stupid.
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