The Onion buys far-right website InfoWars in ‘hilarious joke’
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The news: Satirical outlet The Onion acquired Alex Jones’ Infowars with the support of families of Sandy Hook shooting victims to whom Jones owes nearly USD1.5 billion ($2.32 billion) in defamation damages.
The context: The Onion won the bankruptcy auction for Infowars as part of a liquidation overseen by the US Bankruptcy Court in Texas, related to the defamation case against Jones over false claims about the Sandy Hook shooting.
NBC noted that Jones, 50, is one of the most-high profile and financially successful alternative media personalities in the US. He built a small empire off a radio show that evolved into an internet video platform under the InfoWars brand, known for promoting false and often strange conspiracy theories.
The purchase covers Infowars' intellectual property, including its website, customer lists, inventory, social media accounts and production equipment used for Jones' broadcasts.
The families supported the purchase, choosing to forgo part of their recovery to boost the value of The Onion's bid to ensure its success, according to media reports citing a statement from the families.
The Onion plans to repurpose Infowars into a parody site from January, featuring humour and satire, mocking “weird internet personalities” like Jones who traffic in misinformation and health supplements, Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, told The New York Times.
“We thought this would be a hilarious joke,” Collins said. “This is going to be our answer to this no-guardrails world where there are no gatekeepers and everything’s kind of insane.”
The site will partner with Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit dedicated to ending gun violence founded in the aftermath of the shooting, as the exclusive advertiser as part of a multi-year agreement.
The numbers: The sale price has not been disclosed.
Jones owes nearly USD1.5 billion after being found liable in defamation lawsuits for falsely claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting - which killed 20 children and six adults - was a hoax.
According to previous court filings, Jones’ company, Free Speech Systems, held approximately USD6 million in cash and USD1.2 million in inventory.
What they said: “The Onion is proud to acquire Infowars, and we look forward to continuing its storied tradition of scaring the site’s users with lies until they fork over their cold, hard cash,” Collins, The Onion’s boss, said. “Or Bitcoin. We will also accept Bitcoin.”
“We are planning on making it a very funny, very stupid website,” Collins posted on Blusky.
In a post on X Jones said: “I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and folks met with the U.S. trustee over our bankruptcy this morning and they said they are shutting us down even without a court order this morning,' Jones said. 'I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m going to be here until they come and turn the lights off.”
The sources: NBC News , The New York Times, CNN
