The Onion, known for its satirical news, has won the auction to buy Infowars, the infamous platform run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
The bid was backed by the families of eight Sandy Hook victims and a first responder, who chose to put part of their settlement towards this purchase. The gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety has also come on board with an exclusive advertising deal. The sale includes Infowars’ intellectual property, website, customer lists, some social media accounts, and broadcasting equipment, though the actual bid amount hasn’t been revealed.
“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,” said The Onion CEO Ben Collins. “Or Bitcoin. We will also accept Bitcoin.”
The sale follows Jones’ massive $1.5 billion defamation ruling for spreading false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax. The families opted to forgo part of their recovery to keep Jones off the air, standing firm against his offers of more money if he could continue broadcasting. Chris Mattei, the families’ lawyer, said, “They chose public safety over profit.”
In response, Jones posted a video on X, calling the sale unconstitutional and urging his followers to find him on new channels, vowing to continue broadcasting “until they turn the lights off.” According to CNN, Jones’ allies also put in a bid reportedly in the millions, but ultimately, they lost out.
According to The Onion, Infowars will start its new direction in January 2025. Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed at Sandy Hook, said, “Seeing Infowars shut down is the justice we’ve been fighting for. Having a platform doesn’t mean you’re above the law.”
