Satirical news site The Onion has bought out Alex Jones’ far-right conspiracy outlet InfoWars in a recent bankruptcy auction.
Alex Jones, founder of InfoWars, has faced massive criticism after spreading lies about the Sandy Hook massacre—among other offenses. Back in 2022, families of the school shooting victims filed a defamation lawsuit against Jones and secured a $1.4 billion verdict. They then used part of that money to financially back The Onion’s bid to buy out the publication, “enabling its success,” as stated by their lawyers.
How’s that for karma?
“From Day One, these families have fought against all odds to bring true accountability to Alex Jones and his corrupt business,” said Chris Mattei, attorney for the Connecticut plaintiffs and partner at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder. “Our clients knew that true accountability meant an end to InfoWars and an end to Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain, and fear at scale.”
“After surviving unimaginable loss with courage and integrity, they rejected Jones’ hollow offers for allegedly more money if they would only let him stay on the air because doing so would have put other families in harm’s way,” Mattei continued. “They are heroes, and it has been an honor and privilege to be their advocate throughout this fight. By divesting Jones of InfoWars’s assets, the families and the team at The Onion have done a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones’ ability to do more harm.”
Robbie Parker, mother of one of the Sandy Hook shooting victims, was told this would be a nearly impossible outcome, “but we are no strangers to impossible fights.”
“The world needs to see that having a platform does not mean you are above accountability—the dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of InfoWars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” she said.
The Onion has purchased InfoWars’s intellectual property. This includes its website, customer lists and inventory, some social media accounts, and even production equipment, according to Variety. The satirical publication plans to hire humor writers and content creators to rebuild the website.
The Onion CEO Ben Collins published a statement on BlueSky regarding his intentions with InfoWars going forward.
“We are planning on making it a very funny, very stupid website,” he said.
Some might use those same adjectives for the original site, too.
“We have retained the services of some Onion and Clickhole Hall of Famers to pull this off,” Collins wrote. “I can’t wait to show you what we have cooked up.”
The post The Onion Just Bought Alex Jones’ Infowars—No, Seriously appeared first on VICE.
The post The Onion Just Bought Alex Jones’ Infowars—No, Seriously appeared first on VICE.
