Pepe the Frog cartoonist sues Infowars over poster sales
The cartoonist who created Pepe the Frog has sued conspiracy-promoting website Infowars for selling a poster copying the character, which became hijacked by racist internet trolls and far-right extremists.
The copyright infringement lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles, is the second that California-based cartoonist Matt Furie has brought as part of a legal campaign to reclaim his creation.
Infowars’ website is the online platform for right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Furie’s lawsuit says he didn’t authorize the site to sell a poster that depicts the anthropomorphic frog alongside images of Jones, President Donald Trump, far-right agitator Milo Yiannopoulos and other right-wing figures.
Jones described the lawsuit as a “publicity stunt.” Although he stressed that Infowars didn’t produce the poster, Jones said he views it as an expression of political speech protected by the First Amendment.