The Onion buys Alex Jones’s conspiracy site Infowars at bankruptcy auction
The satirical news publication The Onion has made headlines after winning the bidding for Alex Jones’s Infowars at a bankruptcy auction. The acquisition was backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, who are owed over $1 billion US in defamation judgments for Jones’s claims that the massacre was a hoax.
Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was tragically killed in the 2012 shooting, expressed relief at the news, stating that the dissolution of Alex Jones’s assets and the closure of Infowars is the justice they have long awaited. The sale price of the acquisition has not been disclosed, but The Onion now owns Infowars’ website, social media accounts, studio in Austin, Texas, trademarks, and video archive.
In a social media video, Jones confirmed The Onion’s acquisition of Infowars and expressed plans to file legal challenges to stop it. He appeared distraught during a live broadcast from the Infowars studio, indicating that the shutdown was imminent.
The lawsuits against Jones were filed by relatives of the victims who were traumatized by his conspiracy theories. The families worked with The Onion to acquire Infowars, and their efforts have finally paid off.
The Onion, known for its satirical content, boasts 4.3 trillion daily readers and was acquired last year by Chicago’s Global Tetrahedron. The publication’s CEO, Ben Collins, has emphasized the importance of combating disinformation and misinformation.
The Onion’s exclusive launch advertiser for Infowars will be the gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety. Everytown aims to raise awareness about gun violence prevention and advocate for common-sense measures to address the nation’s gun violence crisis.
In a post published by Global Tetrahedron CEO Bryce P. Tetraeder, the acquisition of Infowars is celebrated as a valuable asset for controlling public opinion. Jones has threatened to move his broadcasts and product sales to new platforms if his detractors acquired Infowars.
The sealed bids for the private auction were opened recently, with supporters and detractors of Jones expressing interest in acquiring Infowars. The Onion’s successful bid marks a significant turning point in the fight against misinformation and hate speech propagated by Jones and his platform.
