Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist had been ordered to pay because of false claims about Sandy Hook massacre

The US supreme court has refused an appeal from Alex Jones and left in place his $1.4bn defamation penalty that was awarded to the families of victims from the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.

The Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist had sought to overturn the judgment, which he was ordered to pay after he made false claims about the massacre.