Alex Jones’ origin story: 4 moments that shaped the ‘multiplatform prophet of paranoia’

Alex Jones has had a strange career.

Grid has used several profiles of his life to pull together a list of the four key moments that helped define not only who Jones has become but also how he achieved such a high level of infamy (or to those that follow him, just fame).

He learned conspiracy theories from a book on his father’s bookshelf

“Mr. Jones was inspired, he has said, by ‘None Dare Call It Conspiracy,’ a 1971 book by Gary Allen that advanced the conservative theory that domestic decision making is not guided by elected officials, but international bankers and politicians,” according to the Times. “Mr. Allen also sold similarly-themed recordings by mail order.”

His father helped him get his first media job with a good-sized audience

“He said, ‘My son’s got some out-there ideas but I think he’d be perfect,’” Daryl O’Neal said. “The next week he brought Alex in for a meeting.” But to ensure the deal came through, Jones’ father was his son’s first on-air advertiser, according to BuzzFeed.

His commentary and fundraising following the Waco siege changed his status from commentator to hero to the extreme right

He mentioned elements of 9/11 before the tragedy took place and used his quasi-prescient words to further perpetuate his government conspiracy theories

“Those were controlled demolitions. You just watched the government blow up the World Trade Center,” Jones said.

His words cost him 70 percent of his radio affiliates, but they cemented his legacy with the far-right conspiracy theorists that were following him.