The Onion Purchases Alex Jones' Infowars

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Facts

  • The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction on Thursday, taking control of the company's many media assets.[1]
  • The sale follows Jones’ bankruptcy filing in light of the $1.5B in damages awarded to families of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting victims, who successfully sued him for defamation after he made since-retracted claims that the mass shooting which killed 20 children and six adults was staged.[2]
  • The satirical news outlet bought Infowars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, for an undeclared sum. The sale also includes Jones' studio equipment, his online nutritional supplement store, domain names, customer lists and social media accounts, but excludes his personal X (formerly Twitter) account.[3]
  • According to sources close to the sale, The Onion plans to shut down Infowars and relaunch the platform with comedic content. Advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety will reportedly be the exclusive advertiser for the new website.[4]
  • The Infowars website was shut down shortly after the announcement of the sale. Jones has previously said that he plans to continue broadcasting via an alternative channel.[5]

Sources: [1]Associated Press, [2]CNN, [3]NPR Online News, [4]Bloomberglaw and [5]NBC.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by Washington Post. This sale represents a serious reckoning for Alex Jones, whose lies have tormented the families of mass shooting victims. He is finally being held accountable for his actions. Hopefully this sale will stop the dissemination of his lies and provide some relief for the families. Additionally, this sale has given an unexpected platform to satirists and gun safety advocates who may be able to reshape the vision and identity of Infowars.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Nationalreview. The sale of Infowars and other media assets belonging to Jones will have a chilling effect. Assets that were up for sale at this auction, like some of his personal social media accounts, are extensions of his persona and therefore should have been exempt from this bankruptcy sale. Additionally, this sale sets a dangerous precedent that could limit the freedom of speech of other people in the future.