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 end to the controversial platform that drummed up anti-government paranoia in the United States for a quarter of a century.
The auction sale on Thursday came as the result of a 2022 ruling that found Jones liable for nearly $1.5bn in damages for defaming the families of the victims of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, by calling the attack a hoax.
The 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook claimed the lives of 20 children and six educators, but Jones falsely claimed that the incident did not happen, arguing that the victims and survivors were crisis actors.
The Onion CEO Ben Collins confirmed the sale on Thursday, saying that it took place with the backing of Sandy Hook families.
“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,” Collins said in a statement.
He added that he hopes that the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims will find joy in the “cosmic joke” that The Onion now owns InfoWars.
The Onion
The Onion is a parody website that publishes satirical news stories that often present a caricature of politicians and current events.
But with US and international politics taking strange turns in recent years, some Onion headlines have come close to describing actual news.
The fictitious CEO of Global Tetrahedron LLC, The Onion’s parent company, 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,” a satirical statement, attributed to Bryce P Tetraeder, said.
“No price would be too high for such a cornucopia of malleable assets and minds.”
On a more serious note, the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety announced that it will be an exclusive advertiser on InfoWars when it relaunches in its new format.
“It’s fitting that a platform once used to profit off of tragedy will be a tool of education, hence our multi-year advertising commitment to this new venture,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in a statement.
“We’re proud to be a part of what comes next, not only in terms of staunching the flow of hurtful misinformation, but also for the potential this new venture has to help Everytown reach new audiences.”
The home page of InfoWars currently features a short statement that reads: “Site unavailable till further notice.”
The US has been suffering from rampant gun violence amid lax regulations on the purchase and carrying of firearms.
According to the tracker Gun Violence Archive, 18,854 people were killed in US shootings last year.
The Second Amendment of the US Constitution grants the right to bear arms. Democrats usually advocate tighter control of weapons, but Republicans largely view gun ownership as a fundamental right.
That’s why Jones and other right-wing conspiracy theorists have questioned mass shootings in the country.
The Sandy Hook families have been pushing to hold Jones accountable for the falsehoods he has spread about them.
Since the 2022 ruling in their favour, the families have been engaged in an ongoing legal fight over the collection of the damages and the fate of Jones’s assets, including InfoWars.
Chris Mattei, a lawyer for the Connecticut plaintiffs, welcomed the purchase of InfoWars by The Onion, calling it a “public service” that will diminish Jones’s reach.
“From day one, these families have fought against all odds to bring true accountability to Alex Jones and his corrupt business,” Mattei said in a statement.
“Our clients knew that true accountability meant an end to Infowars and an end to Jones’s ability to spread lies, pain and fear at scale.”
Jones defiant
For his part, Jones – defiant as ever – pledged to continue broadcasting and fighting to keep the website, saying that he would seek a court injunction to block the sale.
It is unclear how much The Onion paid for InfoWars and whether the families will receive the funds and how.
“This is the tyranny of the new world order – desperate to silence the American people,” Jones said in a video posted on X, decrying the sale of his website as an attack on free speech.
While the First Amendment of the US Constitution protects free speech, there are state and federal US laws that prohibit defamation based on falsehoods.
Jones had amassed millions of viewers with his bombastic style and alarmist warnings about plots by “the globalists” to destroy America.
He moved from the fringes of the media landscape as he grew his audience and he has conducted interviews with mainstream right-wing politicians, including then-candidate Donald Trump in 2015.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, describes Jones as “one of the most prolific and influential conspiracy theorists in contemporary America”.
“With millions of regular viewers and over two decades on the air, Jones has created a financial and brand empire out of selling misinformation and disinformation, as well as self-help dietary products,” the group says in a report on Jones.
“His uncorroborated reporting has led to many innocent people being harassed by internet trolls both online and in person.”
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