
The Guy Who Created Pepe The Frog Is Taking Infowars To Court For Copyright Infringement
By Mustafa GatollariJan. 18 2019, Updated 3:40 p.m. ET
Infowars founder Alex Jones is being sued for copyright infringement of the Pepe the Frog meme. If you've never heard of Infowars or Alex Jones, then count yourself lucky. Don't look up the website, and don't hear any of the insane stuff the site's frontman and founder has said.
Because for the most part it's just conspiracy theory. Don't get me wrong, oftentimes, it is hilarious. Like when Alex Jones went on a rant about chemicals being put in our water supply that's turning frogs gay.
The man also helped perpetuate the bafflingly stupid "Pizzagate" conspiracy that accused Hillary Clinton of running a child prostitution ring from the basement of a pizzeria. When some of his listeners showed up to the pizzeria to "get to the bottom of it," they quickly discovered that the eatery didn't have a basement.
You'd think that all of these wild claims should have landed Infowars in trouble, and it has. When Jones battled his ex-wife for custody of their children, his lawyer, in court, and all of the wild claims Jones made on his site were brought up, his attorney claimed that Jones was a "performance artist" and that he was acting as a character for the entertainment of his audience.
Watches Fox News. Puts on Alex Jones tin foil hat. Proceeds to tweet after mind-meld. Uh oh. Tin foil hat starts to smoke. #IMPEACHTRUMP pic.twitter.com/6QUvM1dNXD
— TheGopSux (@TheGOPSux) February 24, 2018
Also, last year Chobani sued Infowars for defamation, and now, it looks like he's got another lawsuit on his hands. This time, it's from the creator of the popular Pepe the Frog meme.
Pepe was once a harmless character taken from a comic about a frog-man who pulls his pants down all the way to pee while standing up.
The character, along with others, was created by Matt Furie for a series of comic strips. Pepe was singled out for meme purposes, and, most recently a symbol of the surging White Nationalist, Pro-Trump movement in the United States.
Now suing people for making memes out of your character and posting them on social media sites isn't really a battle worth pursuing. You can't really stop someone for posting a MAGA-hat wearing, MS Paint version of a laid-back frog-man you created.
However, you can sue them for putting that likeness on a poster and selling it for profit. Which is seemingly what Infowars did, and now Furie is suing.
Infowars sells a Pepe the Frog "MAGA" poster. Now, Pepe's creator is suing for copyright infringement. https://t.co/PDcrthufIl pic.twitter.com/F3tZ2veS0O
— Jessica Roy 🦅 (@jessica_roy) March 6, 2018
People are seeing the lawsuit as a blow to the White Nationalist movement, and are happy that they're able to "Save Pepe" by reclaiming the meme.
#SavePepe The legal campaign to take Pepe the Frog back from the alt-right is now in California federal court as artist Matt Furie has filed a copyright lawsuit against Alex Jones' InfoWars. https://t.co/gfOMHpnwod @thr
— Oren Segal (@orensegal) March 6, 2018
Wars used to be fought over salt, now, it's frog-man memes. At least you can say human beings are consistently petty.
YES. Pepe come home! https://t.co/rlbKQED37t
— Lawrence Sonntag (@SirLarr) March 7, 2018
Still, people are excited, and tons of outlets are reporting on the lawsuit.
What a time to be alive https://t.co/g4wW0M8Wbj
— That One Dude (@prefragoph) March 7, 2018
Some are saying it's a sign of the times. And it's hard to disagree.
Peak 2018 https://t.co/yLXmaUDN1k
— KornFan (@ThePudge93) March 7, 2018
This is a sentence that makes sense in 2018. Look upon our works, ye mighty, and despair. https://t.co/QrRI9VpRau
— Andrew Edwards (@AndrewEdwardsLB) March 7, 2018
Others are just laughing at the whole thing.
Save Pepe 😂😂😂😂
— 🌺 (@minsagibae) March 7, 2018
Alex Jones' response?
Alex Jones: Official Statement On Pepe The Frog Lawsuit
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) March 7, 2018
- https://t.co/pR2zn1OY6O #infowars
He's probably disparaging it now because he knows he'll have to discontinue the poster inventory and refrain from using the memes in any of his videos. So, by insulting it, he can pretend like he never liked it anyway to save face with his user base. Classic middle school tactics.
“I think the frog is stupid looking. I think it’s a dumb meme," Alex Jones said. https://t.co/DWJ4cpI6rM
— Tor Haugan (@Tor_H) March 7, 2018
For Furie, a court victory against Jones would be a sweet one after seeing his creation become a symbol of hate.
Matt Furie on the experience of having his Pepe the Frog character hijacked by white supremacists #1yrago https://t.co/ta49OVcju3 pic.twitter.com/S2lL8p4sR7
— Cory Doctorow (@doctorow) September 29, 2017
Feels good man.