Satirical news outlet the Onion has won a bankruptcy auction for Alex Jones‘s InfoWars, acquiring the website that served as his central platform.
Jones shared news of the sale on X on Thursday morning, saying, “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.”
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Infowars is being shut down now! pic.twitter.com/nb4loGvL12
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) November 14, 2024
“The Connecticut Democrats with The Onion newspaper bought us,” he added.
The Onion plans to use the InfoWars website and brand to present offerings from humor writers and content creators. Under the new ownership, InfoWars will also have an exclusive advertising deal with Everytown for Gun Safety, a pro-gun control group that endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and was founded by billionaire Mike Bloomberg in 2013.
In a satirical post to the Onion‘s website on Thursday, an article written under the pseudonym “Bryce P. Tetraeder, Global Tetrahedron CEO,” called InfoWars an “invaluable tool for brainwashing and controlling the masses.”
“Through it all, InfoWars has shown an unswerving commitment to manufacturing anger and radicalizing the most vulnerable members of society—values that resonate deeply with all of us at Global Tetrahedron,” the satirical article added.
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The selloff stems from defamation lawsuits from the families affected by the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who accused Jones of causing emotional distress when he spent years falsely promoting that the incident was fabricated. Jones has since said he made a mistake in his public characterization of the shooting and has since affirmed that it did happen.
Jones, a prominent figure in alternative media, built a significant online presence through his Infowars brand, founded in 1999. The show has been a combination of talk radio and internet videos that promoted unproven theories surrounding the news and sensational claims of government plots.
Specifics from the Wednesday auction, including the bid amount for Free Speech Systems, the parent company of InfoWars, and related assets, remain undisclosed. Proceeds from the sale will go to satisfy Jones’s creditors, primarily families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, to whom he owes damages following the defamation rulings.
Families affected by the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting filed defamation lawsuits against Jones in Connecticut and Texas, accusing him of inflicting emotional distress when he repeatedly raised doubts about the incident, in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults.
“We were told this outcome would be nearly impossible, but we are no strangers to impossible fights,” Robbie Parker, whose daughter, Emilie, was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “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.”
While juries awarded nearly $1.5 billion in damages to the families, Jones has asserted he cannot pay the total amount. He filed for bankruptcy in late 2022, and a judge permitted the liquidation of his personal assets in June to help address these financial obligations.
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However, Jones does not plan to cease making online content, and has already set up new brand accounts to upload content under the Alex Jones Network.
The Washington Examiner contacted a lawyer for Jones but did not receive comment.
