The satirical news company, The Onion, has won the bankruptcy auction for control over Alex Jones’ media empire, including InfoWars. InfoWars is a far-right, conspiracy-minded website that served as Jones’ primary online platform. Jones announced the sale, stating that his lawyers and the U.S. trustee decided to shut down his company without a court order. The Onion plans to shutter InfoWars and rebuild the website with well-known internet humor writers and content creators. Jones built a small empire off false and bizarre claims about grand conspiracies and government wrongdoing. The details of the auction, including the amount offered for Free Speech Systems, the parent company of InfoWars, were not immediately known. The funds generated from the sale are intended to satisfy Jones’ estate creditors, who are largely victims’ families of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.
Jones had to file for bankruptcy due to defamation lawsuits brought against him by the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims. Juries awarded the families nearly $1.5 billion in total, but they have been unable to collect anything from Jones as he claimed he cannot afford to pay such a massive sum. He was allowed to liquidate his personal assets to help pay off the verdicts. The sale of InfoWars had the backing of several of the Connecticut families of the Sandy Hook shooting, who were part of the lawsuit. The families saw the sale as a way to hold Jones accountable and hinder his ability to spread lies, pain, and fear at scale. The anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety will be the exclusive advertiser in The Onion’s new venture as part of a multiyear agreement. The organization hopes to reach new audiences ready to hold the gun industry accountable for contributing to the nation’s gun violence epidemic.
The sale of InfoWars by The Onion will mark the end of Jones’ ability to spread conspiracy theories and misinformation through his online platform. Critics of Jones believe that by divesting him of his assets, they are doing a public service and hindering his ability to cause harm. The Connecticut families of the Sandy Hook shooting, who were affected by Jones’ false claims, see the sale as a step towards true accountability. The families hope that shutting down InfoWars will prevent Jones from spreading lies and pain to a wide audience. By eliminating one of Jones’ primary platforms, they aim to reduce his ability to do harm and disrupt his ability to disseminate false information.
The financial success of InfoWars and Jones’ media empire was built on false and often bizarre claims about government wrongdoing and grand conspiracies. Jones used his radio show-turned-internet video operation to propagate his views to a large online audience. The sale of InfoWars will involve the shut down of the platform and the rebuilding of the website with well-known internet humor writers and content creators. The amount offered for Free Speech Systems, the parent company of InfoWars, was not disclosed. The funds generated from the sale will be used to satisfy Jones’ estate creditors and pay the damages awarded to the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims. Jones filed for bankruptcy in 2022, and the sale of InfoWars was seen as a way to hold him accountable for his actions and prevent further harm from his false claims.
The sale of InfoWars by The Onion has the support of organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety, who hope to reach new audiences through their exclusive advertising partnership. By holding the gun industry accountable for contributing to the nation’s gun violence epidemic, the organization aims to make a difference in addressing this pressing issue. The sale of InfoWars not only marks the end of Jones’ ability to spread misinformation but also is seen as a way to prevent further harm by hindering his reach. The Connecticut families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims were integral in pushing for the sale of InfoWars as a means of preventing Jones from causing more pain and spreading lies on a large scale. The sale of InfoWars is seen as a positive step towards accountability and preventing the dissemination of harmful conspiracy theories.
