The Onion to Take Over Conspiracy Theory Website Infowars
The American satirical news organization "The Onion" has reached an agreement to potentially take over Infowars, a conspiracy theory website founded by right-wing broadcaster Alex Jones, as part of its long-running acquisition process.
According to the agreement, The Onion will obtain a license to use the website and related intellectual property from Gregory Milligan, the Infowars trustee appointed by the bankruptcy court, for a monthly fee of $1,800. The agreement still requires approval from a Texas court, and Jones may still appeal the relevant rulings.
The New York Times reported that the battle over Infowars has been a "long and winding tug-of-war," and Jones, a "notorious peddler of lies and malicious rhetoric," has spent the past year and a half attacking The Onion's efforts to take over the website.
Infowars is currently in legal and financial "limbo" due to multiple lawsuits against Jones for defaming the families of victims of the "Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting." Jones falsely claimed in his program that the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was a "hoax."
In related lawsuits, the families of two deceased children filed defamation lawsuits in Texas, where Infowars is registered, while eight other families of victims sued Jones in Connecticut.
In the first Texas case, a jury awarded $50 million in damages to a parent of a victim, after which Jones filed for bankruptcy protection, leading to an indefinite postponement of the second Texas case.
Meanwhile, a Connecticut jury ordered Jones to pay a total of $1.4 billion in damages to other families of victims and a former law enforcement officer who filed a lawsuit. Jones appealed the ruling all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court ultimately refused to hear the case.
The Onion's parent company, Global Tetrahedron, won the auction for Infowars assets in a 2024 bankruptcy auction, but the judge later invalidated the results, citing a lack of transparency in the transaction.
If the new licensing agreement is approved by the court, The Onion plans to transform Infowars into a satirical website, comically reshaping its role as a "source" of conspiracy theories, and has hired comedian Tim Heidecker as creative director.
"It would be a 'beautiful prank' if we could repackage a force of toxicity, negativity, and destruction like Infowars into a wonderful space to unleash our creativity," Heidecker said, who was a core creative force behind the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim show "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!"
According to plans, The Onion will also continue to sell Infowars-related merchandise and share the proceeds with the families of the Sandy Hook victims.
"We will continue to lie for cold, hard cash, only this time in a 'cool' way, and we will also make sure some of that money actually gets back to those families," said Ben Collins, CEO of Global Tetrahedron, sarcastically pointing out The Onion's attempt to "take over" the highly controversial platform in a comedic way.