Citing sources from inside Facebook, The New York Times reported on the process that led to Jones’ suspension. “The situation was volatile enough that Mr Zuckerberg got personally engaged, according to two people involved in Facebook’s handling of the accounts.”

The rest of the Times’ article is a flurry of contradictions. It simultaneously calls fears of censorship “overblown” while acknowledging that users of the platforms must now “tip-toe around” controversial topics to avoid being banned. At the same time, the piece grudgingly admits that “both fans and critics of Infowars can probably agree that a system in which one executive can decide to shut off a news organization’s access to a large portion of its audience is hardly ideal.”