Not a parody: The Onion acquires Alex Jones’s InfoWars in auction

In this case, it’s not satire.

InfoWars, the website of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has been purchased by The Onion – a parody outlet – putting an extremity to the arguable level that drummed up anti-government paranoia successful the United States for a 4th of a century.

The auction merchantability connected Thursday came arsenic the effect of a 2022 ruling that recovered Jones liable for astir $1.5bn successful damages for defaming the families of the victims of a wide shooting astatine an simple schoolhouse successful Newtown, Connecticut, by calling the onslaught a hoax.

The 2012 shooting astatine Sandy Hook claimed the lives of 20 children and six educators, but Jones falsely claimed that the incidental did not happen, arguing that the victims and survivors were situation actors.

The Onion CEO Ben Collins confirmed the merchantability connected Thursday, saying that it took spot with the backing of Sandy Hook families.

“The Onion is arrogant to get InfoWars, and we look guardant to continuing its storied contented of scaring the site’s users with lies until they fork implicit their cold, hard cash,” Collins said successful a statement.

He added that helium hopes that the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims volition find joyousness successful the “cosmic joke” that The Onion present owns InfoWars.

The Onion

The Onion is simply a parody website that publishes satirical quality stories that often contiguous a caricature of politicians and existent events.

But with US and planetary authorities taking unusual turns successful caller years, immoderate Onion headlines person travel adjacent to describing existent news.

The fictitious CEO of Global Tetrahedron LLC, The Onion’s genitor company, called InfoWars an “invaluable instrumentality for brainwashing and controlling the masses”.

“Through it all, InfoWars has shown an unswerving committedness to manufacturing choler and radicalizing the astir susceptible members of nine – values that resonate profoundly with each of america astatine Global Tetrahedron,” a satirical statement, attributed to Bryce P Tetraeder, said.

“No terms would beryllium excessively precocious for specified a cornucopia of malleable assets and minds.”

On a much superior note, the advocacy radical Everytown for Gun Safety announced that it volition beryllium an exclusive advertiser connected InfoWars erstwhile it relaunches successful its caller format.

“It’s fitting that a level erstwhile utilized to nett disconnected of calamity volition beryllium a instrumentality of education, hence our multi-year advertizing committedness to this caller venture,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said successful a statement.

“We’re arrogant to beryllium a portion of what comes next, not lone successful presumption of staunching the travel of hurtful misinformation, but besides for the imaginable this caller task has to assistance Everytown scope caller audiences.”

The location leafage of InfoWars presently features a abbreviated connection that reads: “Site unavailable till further notice.”

The US has been suffering from rampant weapon violence amid lax regulations connected the acquisition and carrying of firearms.

According to the tracker Gun Violence Archive, 18,854 radical were killed successful US shootings past year.

The Second Amendment of the US Constitution grants the close to carnivore arms. Democrats usually advocator tighter power of weapons, but Republicans mostly presumption weapon ownership arsenic a cardinal right.

That’s wherefore Jones and different right-wing conspiracy theorists person questioned wide shootings successful the country.

The Sandy Hook families person been pushing to clasp Jones accountable for the falsehoods helium has dispersed astir them.

Since the 2022 ruling successful their favour, the families person been engaged successful an ongoing ineligible combat implicit the postulation of the damages and the destiny of Jones’s assets, including InfoWars.

Chris Mattei, a lawyer for the Connecticut plaintiffs, welcomed the acquisition of InfoWars by The Onion, calling it a “public service” that volition diminish Jones’s reach.

“From time one, these families person fought against each likelihood to bring existent accountability to Alex Jones and his corrupt business,” Mattei said successful a statement.

“Our clients knew that existent accountability meant an extremity to Infowars and an extremity to Jones’s quality to dispersed lies, symptom and fearfulness astatine scale.”

Jones defiant

For his part, Jones – defiant arsenic ever – pledged to proceed broadcasting and warring to support the website, saying that helium would question a tribunal injunction to artifact the sale.

It is unclear however overmuch The Onion paid for InfoWars and whether the families volition person the funds and how.

“This is the tyranny of the caller satellite bid – hopeless to soundlessness the American people,” Jones said successful a video posted connected X, decrying the merchantability of his website arsenic an onslaught connected escaped speech.

While the First Amendment of the US Constitution protects escaped speech, determination are authorities and national US laws that prohibit defamation based connected falsehoods.

Jones had amassed millions of viewers with his bombastic benignant and alarmist warnings astir plots by “the globalists” to destruct America.

He moved from the fringes of the media scenery arsenic helium grew his assemblage and helium has conducted interviews with mainstream right-wing politicians, including then-candidate Donald Trump successful 2015.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hatred groups, describes Jones arsenic “one of the astir prolific and influential conspiracy theorists successful modern America”.

“With millions of regular viewers and implicit 2 decades connected the air, Jones has created a fiscal and marque empire retired of selling misinformation and disinformation, arsenic good arsenic self-help dietary products,” the radical says successful a study connected Jones.

“His uncorroborated reporting has led to galore guiltless radical being harassed by net trolls some online and successful person.”