The Truth vs. Alex Jones

2024 American film

Dan Reed
Marguerite Gaudin

Edited by

Peter Haddon
Will Grayburn

Music byDavid Schweitzer

Production
companies

HBO Documentary Films
Amos Pictures

Distributed byHBO

Release dates

March 11, 2024 (2024-03-11) (SXSW)
March 26, 2024 (2024-03-26) (United States)

Running time

121 minutes^[1]CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

The Truth vs. Alex Jones is a 2024 American documentary film, directed and produced by Dan Reed. It follows families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, taking radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to court for spreading lies about the shooting.

It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024, and was released on March 26, 2024, by HBO.

Premise

Families of victims from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting take radio host Alex Jones to court for spreading conspiracies and lies.^[2]

Production

Dan Reed received exclusive access to the courtroom of the trial of Alex Jones, after the judge permitted cameras and microphones.^[3] Reed attempted to interview Jones for the film, who declined. However, Jones would turn to the cameras and wink or smile, which Reed found strange.^[4]

Release

It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024.^[5] It was released on HBO and Max on March 26, 2024.^[6]

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.3/10.^[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[8]

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, writing: "Sharply edited, sensitively constructed, and expertly crafted. It's a reminder of how to tell this story well in a documentary film instead of dragging it out for the common docuseries trend."^[9] Fletcher Peters of The Daily Beast wrote: "A scathing portrait of Jones and the vile misinformation he spread about the Sandy Hook tragedy."^[10]

References

^ "The Truth vs. Alex Jones". South by Southwest. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "HBO Original Documentary THE TRUTH VS. ALEX JONES Debuts March 26". Warner Bros. Discovery. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ Hibberd, James (March 15, 2024). "Lies and their cost: With new documentary, filmmaker captures fight to hold Alex Jones accountable". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ Morfoot, Addie (March 11, 2024). "Why Dan Reed Wanted to Do a Doc on Alex Jones and Sandy Hook: 'We Are Sleepwalking Into This Era of Fantasy and Lies Becoming Mainstream'". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 7, 2024). "SXSW 2024 Second Wave Includes Pics With Sydney Sweeney, Nicolas Cage, Camila Mendes & 'Monkey Man'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ Hibberd, James (March 12, 2024). "HBO Releases 'The Truth vs. Alex Jones' Trailer From 'Leaving Neverland' Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ "The Truth vs. Alex Jones". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
^ "The Truth vs. Alex Jones". Metacritic. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
^ Tallerico, Brian (March 25, 2024). "The Truth vs. Alex Jones". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ Peters, Fletcher (March 12, 2024). "Alex Jones Goon Admits He Should 'Go to a Mental Hospital' in Sandy Hook Doc". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

External links

Official website
The Truth vs. Alex Jones at IMDb

HBO documentaries

Former

1990s	Skinheads USA: Soldiers of the Race War (1993) Shock Video (1993) One Survivor Remembers (1995) Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case For Reasonable Doubt? (1996) Paradise Lost (1996) Without Pity: A Film About Abilities (1996) 4 Little Girls (1997) City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal (1998) Private Dicks: Men Exposed (1999)
2000s	Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000) The Iceman Confesses (2001) Just, Melvin: Just Evil (2001) Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen (2001) American Standoff (2002) Jim Brown: All-American (2002) Born Rich (2003) Capturing the Friedmans (2003) Thinking XXX (2004) Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team (2005) All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise (2006) When the Levees Broke (2006) Autism: The Musical (2007) Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi (2007) I Am an Animal (2007) Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) Cat Dancers (2008) The One Percent (2008) Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) Boy Interrupted (2009) By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009) China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) Good Hair (2009) The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009) The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009) One Minute to Nine (2009) Reporter (2009) The Trials of Ted Haggard (2009) 12th & Delaware (2010) The Battle for Marjah (2010) A Small Act (2010)
2010s	Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011) Citizen USA: A 50 State Road Trip (2011) His Way (2011) Love Crimes of Kabul (2011) The Loving Story (2011) There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (2011) 41 (2012) Crossfire Hurricane (2012) Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012) Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2012) 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus (2013) An Apology to Elephants (2013) Casting By (2013) Fall to Grace (2013) Gideon's Army (2013) Life According to Sam (2013) Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden (2013) Six by Sondheim (2013) Valentine Road (2013) Vice (2013–2018) Banksy Does New York (2014) Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart (2014) The Case Against 8 (2014) Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways (2014) Love Child (2014) Private Violence (2014) Saving My Tomorrow (2014) 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets (2015) Citizenfour (2015) The Diplomat (2015) Everything Is Copy (2015) A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015) Going Clear (2015) How to Dance in Ohio (2015) J. Cole: Road to Homecoming (2015) The Jinx (2015) Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (2015) Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop (2015) Abortion: Stories Women Tell (2016) Brillo Box (3 ¢ Off) (2016) Class Divide (2016) Mariela Castro's March: Cuba's LGBT Revolution (2016) Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper (2016) The Trans List (2016) Unlocking the Cage (2016) Baltimore Rising (2017) Becoming Warren Buffett (2017) Beware the Slenderman (2017) Bright Lights (2017) Cries from Syria (2017) The Defiant Ones (2017) Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) (2017) If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast (2017) J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only (2017) Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017) The Newspaperman (2017) Rock and a Hard Place (2017) Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison (2017) Spielberg (2017) Traffic Stop (2017) Arthur Miller: Writer (2018) Atomic Homefront (2018) Axios (2018–2021) Believer (2018) The Final Year (2018) King in the Wilderness (2018) May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers (2018) The Number on Great-Grandpa's Arm (2018) The Price of Everything (2018) Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018) Swiped: Hooking Up in the Digital Age (2018) The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (2018) At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019) Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists (2019) The Case Against Adnan Syed (2019) I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth V. Michelle Carter (2019) Ice on Fire (2019) The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019) Leaving Neverland (2019) Running with Beto (2019) United Skates (2019) What's My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019) The Apollo (2019) Wig (2019)
2020s	After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News (2020) McMillions (2020) Autism: The Sequel (2020) Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) Bully. Coward. Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn (2020) How To with John Wilson (2020–2023) I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020) Welcome to Chechnya (2020) Showbiz Kids (2020) Stockton on My Mind (2020) The Weight of Gold (2020) The Swamp (2020) Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn (2020) Agents of Chaos (2020) Wild Card: The Downfall of a Radio Loudmouth (2020) Siempre, Luis (2020) The Perfect Weapon (2020) 537 Votes (2020) The Soul of America (2020) Burning Ojai: Our Fire Story (2020) Transhood (2020) Crazy, Not Insane (2020) The Mystery Of D.B. Cooper (2020) Baby God (2020) The Vow (2020–2022) 40 Years a Prisoner (2020) Alabama Snake (2020) The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (2020) The Art of Political Murder (2020) Tiger (2021) Fake Famous (2021) Black Art: In the Absence of Light (2021) Painting with John (2021–2023) The Lady and the Dale (2021) Covid Diaries NYC (2021) Allen v. Farrow (2021) The Day Sports Stood Still (2021) Tina (2021) The Last Cruise (2021) Q: Into the Storm (2021) Exterminate All the Brutes (2021) Our Towns (2021) Pray, Obey, Kill (2021) The Crime of the Century (2021) Revolution Rent (2021) The Legend of the Underground (2021) Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (2021) Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes (2021) Back on the Record with Bob Costas (2021–2022) Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (2021) In the Same Breath (2021) Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump (2021) NYC Epicenters 9/11→2021½ (2021) Level Playing Field (2021) Nuclear Family (2021) Four Hours at the Capitol (2021) Dear Rider: The Jake Burton Story (2021) A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks (2021) Simple as Water (2021) Jagged (2021) Black and Missing (2021) DMX: Don't Try to Understand (2021) Life of Crime 1984-2020 (2021) Adrienne (2021) Listening to Kenny G (2021) The Forever Prisoner (2021) The Slow Hustle (2021) Mr. Saturday Night (2021) Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021) The Murders at Starved Rock (2021) Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss (2021) Reopening Night (2021) Insecure: The End (2021) The Super Bob Einstein Movie (2021) Terry Bradshaw: Going Deep (2022) Icahn: The Restless Billionaire (2022) Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (2022) Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall (2022) Phoenix Rising (2022) How to Survive a Pandemic (2022) When We Were Bullies (2022) Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off (2022) The Invisible Pilot (2022) Spring Awakening: Those You've Known (2022) George Carlin's American Dream (2022) The Janes (2022) Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes (2022) Endangered (2022) Mind Over Murder (2022) We Met in Virtual Reality (2022) Edge of the Earth (2022) The Princess (2022) Katrina Babies (2022) Escape From Kabul (2022) Hostages (2022) 38 at the Garden (2022) Mama's Boy (2022) Year One: A Political Odyssey (2022) A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting (2022) Say Hey, Willie Mays! (2022) Master of Light (2022) Camilo: El Primer Tour De Mi Vida (2022) 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2022) The Howard Stern Interview: Bruce Springsteen (2022) My So-Called High School Rank (2022) Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo (2022) Pelosi in the House (2022) Shaq (2022) Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo (2022) Branson (2022) Sex Diaries (2022) This Place Rules (2022) Game Theory with Bomani Jones (2022) All That Breathes (2023) All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2023) Jason Isbell: Running with Our Eyes Closed (2023) Moonage Daydream (2023) 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed (2023) Angel City (2023) Love to Love You, Donna Summer (2023) Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023) Burden of Proof (2023) How Do You Measure a Year? (2023) The Stroll (2023) Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (2023) Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (2023) The Golden Boy (2023) Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York (2023) After the Bite (2023) BS High (2023) Telemarketers (2023) Savior Complex (2023) The Insurrectionist Next Door (2023) Navajo Police: Class 57 (2023) You Were My First Boyfriend (2023) Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (2023) Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning (2023) Time Bomb Y2K (2023) Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (2024) God Save Texas (2024) A Revolution on Canvas (2024) The Truth vs. Alex Jones (2024) The Synanon Fix (2024)

Current and upcoming

Current	Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (since 1995) Hard Knocks (since 2001) The Shop (since 2018) 100 Foot Wave (since 2021) Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (since 2024)
Upcoming	Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. (2024) Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024) The Larry David Story (TBA) Untitled Paul Reubens documentary (TBA) Seen & Heard (TBA) Eyes on the Prize docuseries (TBA) Untitled Ohio State University abuse scandal documentary (TBA)

School shootings in the United States

Prior to 2000
(full list)

1760s	Enoch Brown school massacre (1764)
1960s	University of Texas (1966) Rose-Mar College of Beauty (1966)
1970s	Kent State University (1970) Jackson State University (1970) Olean High School (1974) Computer Learning Center (1976) California State University, Fullerton (1976) Cleveland Elementary School (1979)
1980s	49th Street Elementary School (1984) Cokeville Elementary School (1986) Hubbard Woods Elementary School (1988) Oakland Elementary School (1988) Cleveland Elementary School (1989)
1990s	University of Iowa (1991) Lindhurst High School (1992) Bard College at Simon's Rock (1992) East Carter High School (1993) Wickliffe Middle School (1994) Blackville–Hilda High School (1995) Richland High School (1995) Frontier Middle School (1996) San Diego State University (1996) Bethel Regional High School (1997) Pearl High School (1997) Heath High School (1997) Westside Middle School (1998) Parker Middle School (1998) Thurston High School (1998) Columbine High School (1999)

2000 to present
(full list)

2000s	Buell Elementary School (2000) University of Arkansas (2000) Santana High School (2001) Appalachian School of Law (2002) John McDonogh High School (2003) Case Western Reserve University (2003) Rocori High School (2003) Red Lake Senior High School (2005) Campbell County High School (2005) Pine Middle School (2006) Platte Canyon High School (2006) Weston High School (2006) West Nickel Mines School (2006) Virginia Tech (2007) Delaware State University (2007) SuccessTech Academy (2007) Northern Illinois University (2008) E.O. Junior High School (2008) University of Central Arkansas (2008)
2010s	University of Alabama in Huntsville (2010) Chardon High School (2012) Oikos University (2012) Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012) Santa Monica College (2013) Sparks Middle School (2013) Marysville Pilchuck High School (2014) Umpqua Community College (2015) Northern Arizona University (2015) University of California, Los Angeles (2016) El Centro College (2016) Townville Elementary School (2016) North Park Elementary School (2017) Rancho Tehama Elementary School (2017) Aztec High School (2017) Marshall County High School (2018) Stoneman Douglas High School (2018) Santa Fe High School (2018) Noblesville West Middle School (2018) University of North Carolina at Charlotte (2019) STEM School Highlands Ranch (2019) Saugus High School (2019)
2020s	Oxford High School (2021) Liberty Point International Middle School (2022) East High School (2022) Robb Elementary School (2022) Rusdale High School (2022) Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (2022) University of Virginia (2022) Richneck Elementary School (2023) Michigan State University (2023) Covenant School (2023) Virginia Commonwealth University (2023) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2023) University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2023) Perry High School (2024)

In media

Film and television	The Deadly Tower (1975) Detention: The Siege at Johnson High (1997) Duck! The Carbine High Massacre (1999) Bang Bang You're Dead (2002) Bowling for Columbine (2002) Heart of America (2002) Home Room (2002) "Jimmy" (2002) Elephant (2003) Zero Day (2003) American Yearbook (2004) "Time Stands Still" (2004) The Only Way (2004) Dawn Anna (2005) All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006) American Gun (2006) State's Evidence (2006) The Life Before Her Eyes (2007) April Showers (2009) Beautiful Boy (2010) We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) Hello Herman (2012) Rudderless (2014) Sins of Our Youth (2014) The Cokeville Miracle (2015) I'm Not Ashamed (2016) "Dead Kids" (2018) Vox Lux (2018) Safety (2019) If Anything Happens I Love You (2020) Run Hide Fight (2020) The Fallout (2021) Mass (2021) Eric Larue (2023) The Truth vs. Alex Jones (2024) The Graduates (upcoming)
Literature	Give a Boy a Gun (2000) Nobody Left to Hate (2001) No Easy Answers (2002) After (2003) Columbine (2009) Hate List (2009) "'No Way to Prevent This', Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens" (2014—) A Mother's Reckoning (2016)
Other	Pico's School (1999) Lullaby for Columbine (1999) Shoot (Hellblazer) (1999/2010) "The Nobodies" (2000) columbinus (2005) Super Columbine Massacre RPG! (2005) "Valentine's Day" (2013) The Library (2014)