The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to InfoWars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones over several products being sold on his website that are presented falsely as being curative in connection with the coronavirus, including toothpaste and something Jones calls “immune gargle.”
In a letter dated April 9, the FDA states that it is taking measures to protect consumers from “certain products that, without approval or authorization by FDA, claim to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people.” Several items available for sale in InfoWars’s online store apparently meet that definition. As a result, the FDA has added InfoWars to a list of websites that have been caught peddling products misleadingly represented as effective in warding off or treating the virus.
Among the products cited are “SuperSilver Wound Dressing Gel,” “Superblue Fluoride Free Toothpaste,” and “Superblue Silver Immune Gargle,” which Jones promoted during a March 10 show titled “Alex Jones Deep States: Using Coronavirus Fear and Panic To Destroy Our Country.”
According to the FDA, Jones told listeners of his show that his products were known to “boost your immune system” and were “on record taking out viruses and bacteria.” The same day, Jones said his products “kill every virus,” that the Pentagon had document this effect “13 years ago,” and that the chemicals in his products are “about to be in Walmart.” In a separate video a month prior, Jones told listeners that if they were “concerned about the coronavirus” they should purchase his products because they “fight off infection.”
Jones was also warned his claims violate laws against deception in advertising which are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
“You should take immediate action to correct the violations cited in this letter. The violations cited in this letter are not meant to be an all-inclusive list of violations that exist in connection with your products or operations,” the letter, signed by the director of the FDA’s office of compliance, Donald D. Ashley, said.
Jones has been given two days to take “corrective action” and to notify the FDA of what actions he took. Until then, the only punishment he appears to face at this time is having his store listed as a violator on a government website—a veritable slap on the wrist.
This isn’t the first time Jones’ products have raised eyebrows. In 2017, Gizmodo reported that dietary supplements sold by Jones were found to have high levels of lead, according to testing by watchdog group Centres for Environmental Health (CEH). Lead, of which there is no “safe amount” to ingest, is particularly dangerous because it accumulates in the body over time. (InfoWars had previously cited CEH in two of its blogs, but they disappeared after Gizmodo reached out for comment.)
Ironically, while many of InfoWars products are advertised as being beneficial to men specifically, including his line of “CAVEMAN” supplements, lead is a known cause of low sperm counts.