InfoWars host Alex Jones has backtracked on his claims that the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut did not happen, after parents of two of the victims sued him for defamation.
"I believe Sandy Hook happened and early on I was being bullied by internet folks to say that nobody died," the right-wing radio host said in YouTube video response posted on Tuesday.
"And when I wouldn't say nobody died in the debates and I would actually side with those that said that people did die, they would say that I was a government agent ... that I was an actor meant to cover up Sandy Hook."
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Mr Jones previously alleged the 2012 shooting, in which 20 year one students and six adults were killed, was a "hoax" and "a synthetic completely fake with actors".
In his video response, the conspiracy theorist claimed those comments were made to play "devil's advocate" but had been taken out of context by "corporate media".
Parents Leonard Pozner and Veronique De Le Rosa, and Neil Heslin, are suing Jones for at least $US1 million. Their respective sons, Noah Pozner and Jesse Lewis, were killed during the shooting.
The lawsuits, filed this week, allege Mr Jones' misinformation led conspiracy theorists to make death threats against the families of shooting victims.
