Satirical Outlet The Onion Acquires Alex Jones’s Infowars in Court-Ordered Auction for Undisclosed Sum.
The Onion announced that its bid was backed by families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, who previously won a $1.5 billion (£1.18 billion) defamation lawsuit against Alex Jones for spreading false claims about the tragedy.
A Texas judge ordered the auction in September, drawing interest from various groups, including both supporters and critics of Jones.
Founded by Jones in 1999, Infowars has been his primary platform, though he has pledged to continue broadcasting on a new platform.
In a lengthy video message posted Thursday morning, Alex Jones condemned The Onion’s takeover of Infowars, calling it a total attack on free speech.
I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ll be here until they come in and turn the lights off," Jones declared. "This is the tyranny of the New World Order, bent on silencing the American people and Trump’s mandate. They don’t care about the rule of law.
The Onion has plans to revamp the Infowars site with contributions from popular humor writers and content creators. "We're aiming to make it a very funny, very ridiculous website," stated Ben Collins, former NBC News journalist and current CEO of The Onion’s parent company.
The Onion also published a humorous article announcing the acquisition, praising Infowars' dedication to inciting anger and radicalizing society’s most vulnerable, while claiming to have outsmarted Jones and acquired the site at a steep bargain: less than one trillion dollars.
An attorney for several Sandy Hook families endorsed the acquisition. By taking Infowars out of Jones’s hands, the families and The Onion have done a public service that will greatly limit his ability to cause further harm, said Chris Mattei.
Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the Sandy Hook tragedy, commented, The world needs to see that having a platform doesn’t place you above accountability – the dismantling of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited.
Additionally, Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group, announced an agreement to advertise on the reimagined Infowars site.
Alex Jones began as a fringe broadcaster in Austin, Texas, during the 1990s and eventually gained millions of followers through a mix of opinion, speculation, and outright fabrication. Infowars, Jones’s company, generates most of its revenue through an online store selling vitamins and various products.
Over the years, Infowars found increasing support among Donald Trump’s allies and fans. During his first presidential run, Trump appeared on Infowars, famously telling Jones, Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.
Jones and Infowars faced severe financial challenges stemming from the content they broadcast after the tragic December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 young children and six educators.
In the aftermath, Jones and his guests frequently cast doubt on the massacre’s reality, promoting conspiracy theories that it was staged or orchestrated by government agents. Jones once referred to the shooting as “a giant hoax” and claimed in 2015 that Sandy Hook was completely fake with actors… manufactured, while suggesting that real children may have been killed.
Jones’s conspiracy theories led some of his followers to harass the families of Sandy Hook victims, with incidents involving graphic messages and threats, and even “investigations” by conspiracy believers visiting Newtown. Some followers were arrested for harassment.
Although Jones later admitted the tragedy was real, he argued his prior statements were protected by free speech. However, defamation judgments ruled in favor of the victims’ families due to his false claims.
Following these judgments, Jones declared bankruptcy in 2022, and in June 2024, a judge ordered the liquidation of his assets, which included a multimillion-dollar ranch, properties, vehicles, and firearms, valued at approximately $8.6 million.
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