Following a defamation lawsuit resulting in far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones having to auction off Infowars, the rightwing media platform run by Jones was purchased by satirical media outlet The Onion due to feedback from users on the social media app Bluesky.
"I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and folks met with the US trustee over our bankruptcy this morning, and they said they are shutting us down even without a court order this morning," Jones said in a video shared on X. "The Connecticut Democrats with The Onion newspaper bought us."
Infowars is being shut down now! pic.twitter.com/nb4loGvL12
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) November 14, 2024
"We are planning on making it a very funny, very stupid website," The Onion CEO Ben Collins wrote on social media app Bluesky. "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."
"Also, part of the reason we did bought InfoWars is because people on Bluesky told us it would be funny to buy InfoWars. And those people were right. This is the funniest thing that has ever happened," he continued in a separate post.
Bryce P. Tetraeder, a fictitious CEO of The Onion's parent company Global Tetrahedron, published a satirical article explaining the reasoning behind the purchase on The Onion's website. Titled "Here's Why I Decided To Buy 'Infowars'", the article includes Tetraeder admitting to buying the platform due to its value as a "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," he wrote.
Earlier this year, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez approved the dismantling of Infowars. This was to allow for the platform's assets to be auctioned off, with the funds raised from the auction going towards paying $1.5 billion owed to relatives of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting by Jones.
This follows the conclusion of a defamation and emotional distress lawsuit levied against Jones by families of Sandy Hook victims in 2022. They were awarded $1.5 billion in damages after Jones spent years insisting that the tragedy had been fabricated, and was part of a political scheme to promote gun control measures to the public.
This was then followed by supporters of Jones reaching out to rightwing billionaire Elon Musk, begging him to purchase Infowars and sell it to Jones for cheap.
"The dissolution of Alex Jones's assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for," said the father of Sandy Hook victim Emilie Parker, Robbie Parker, in a statement provided by his lawyers.
The Onion named gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety its "exclusive launch advertiser".
"Everytown will continue to raise awareness on InfoWars' channels about gun violence prevention and present actual solutions to our nation's gun violence crisis, including bipartisan, common-sense measures and public safety initiatives backed by Everytown," The Onion said in a statement Thursday.
Originally published by Latin Times.
