Satrire publication The Onion purchased Infowars — the Alex Jones right-wing conspiracy theory website — in a bankruptcy auction on Thursday. About an hour and a half after the announcement of the sale, Infowars’ website was shut down.
The Onion will take control over Jones’ media empire, most notably Infowars, the far-right, conspiracy-minded website that served as Jones’ primary online platform. Infowars was sold in a bankruptcy auction after Sandy Hook elementary school shooting families won a $1.5 billion judgment against Jones in defamation suits. Proceeds from the sale will go to pay down a $1.5 billion against Jones for spreading false conspiracy theories that claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook mass elementary school shooting was faked.
Jones confirmed the purchase Thursday on X: “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. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m going to be here until they come and turn the lights off.” Jones added that security had notified him he has to leave the Infowars premises on Thursday.
The Onion, which often satirized Jones, said they plan to rebuild the Infowars website to feature the work of well-known Internet humor writers and content creators. In a statement on the social media site BlueSky, The Onion CEO Ben Collins said his company has plans for Infowars: “We are planning on making it a very funny, very stupid website. We have retained the services of some Onion and Clickhole Hall of Famers to pull this off. I can’t wait to show you what we have cooked up.” The Onion added that its “exclusive launch advertiser” will be the gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
Sandy Hook families from Newton, CT filed lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas claiming Jones defamed them on his show and inflicted emotional distress by repeatedly suggesting the shooting, in which a gunman killed 20 first grade children and six adults, was a hoax. Chris Mattei, an attorney for the families, said: “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.” The plaintiffs agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to boost The Onion’s bankruptcy auction bid, according to attorneys.
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