By Rebel News | Created at 2024-11-14 19:48:22 | Updated at 2024-11-25 06:03:44
1 week ago
Satirical news website The Onion has purchased Infowars at a bankruptcy auction. “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,” Jones said in a statement posted to X on Thursday morning.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to be here until they come and turn the lights off,” the broadcaster said.
A source says The Onion plans to restructure the Infowars website to feature comedic writers and content creators, reports NBC News. Around 90 minutes later, the Infowars.com and Banned.video domains operated by Jones' company were shut down.
Jones and Infowars are perhaps the most prominent of alternative media sources, notoriously tackling subjects often deemed too controversial by mainstream networks.
Details of the sale remain undisclosed; however, the funds are meant to assist in covering Jones' estate creditors, namely the families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims to whom Jones owes following a landmark defamation ruling.
A Connecticut jury awarded the families nearly $1 billion in damages in a 2022 decision.
“Our clients knew that true accountability meant an end to Infowars and an end to Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain and fear at scale,” Chris Mattei, attorney for the Connecticut families, told NBC News in a statement.
“By divesting Jones of Infowars’ assets, the families and the team at The Onion have done a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones’ ability to do more harm.”
The Onion is owned by Global Tetrahedron and is run by CEO Ben Collins. Before moving to that role, he covered disinformation and conspiracy theories for NBC. Collins previously responded to online calls for the company to purchase Infowars in June by saying he was looking into it, NBC reported.
What's next for the longtime broadcaster after the closing of Infowars remains unclear — though Jones appears committed to continuing his show under a new umbrella.
“All you leftists celebrating the end of Alex Jones and Infowars, you’re fools,” he said. “Just watch.”
