Current:Home > InvestSatire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families -Wealth Momentum Network
Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
View
Date:2025-04-18 15:48:12
The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax, the families announced Thursday.
“The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the 2012 shooting in Connecticut, said in a statement provided by his lawyers.
The sale price was not immediately disclosed.
Jones confirmed The Onion’s acquisition of Infowars in a social media video Thursday and said he planned to file legal challenges to stop it. An email message seeking comment was sent to Infowars.
“Last broadcast now live from Infowars studios. They are in the building. Are ordering shutdown without court approval,” Jones said on the social platform X.
Jones was broadcasting live from the Infowars studio Thursday morning and appeared distraught, putting his head in his hand at his desk.
It was not immediately clear what The Onion planned to do with the conspiracy theory platform, including its website, social media accounts, studio in Austin, Texas, trademarks and video archive. The Chicago-based Onion did not immediately return emails seeking comment Thursday.
Sealed bids for the private auction were opened Wednesday. Both supporters and detractors of Jones had expressed interest in buying Infowars. The other bidders have not been disclosed.
The Onion, a satirical site that manages to persuade people to believe the absurd, bills itself as “the world’s leading news publication, offering highly acclaimed, universally revered coverage of breaking national, international, and local news events” and says it has 4.3 trillion daily readers.
Jones has been saying on his show that if his detractors bought Infowars, he would move his daily broadcasts and product sales to a new studio, websites and social media accounts that he has already set up. He also said that if his supporters won the bidding, he could stay on the Infowars platforms.
Relatives of many of the 20 children and six educators killed in the shooting Jones and his company for defamation and emotional distress for repeatedly saying on his show that the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax staged by crisis actors to spur more gun control. Parents and children of many of the victims testified that they were traumatized by Jones’ conspiracies and threats by his followers.
The lawsuits were filed in Connecticut and Texas. Lawyers for the families in the Connecticut lawsuit said they worked with The Onion to try to acquire Infowars.
veryGood! (6269)
Related
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Karl-Anthony Towns of the Timberwolves receives the NBA’s social justice award
- How much are Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul tickets? Some seats listed for $8K apiece
- Florida deputies who fatally shot US airman burst into wrong apartment, attorney says
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- New lawsuit renews challenge to Tennessee laws targeting crossover voting in primary elections
- Landowners oppose Wichita Falls proposal to dam river for a reservoir to support water needs
- Flight attendants charged in connection with scheme to smuggle drug money from U.S. to Dominican Republic
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- The Rev. Al Sharpton to give eulogy for Ohio man who died last month while in police custody
Ranking
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Judge indefinitely delays Trump classified documents trial
- Despite numbers showing a healthy economy overall, lower-income spenders are showing the strain
- How Shadowy Corporations, Secret Deals and False Promises Keep Retired Coal Plants From Being Redeveloped
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- How a Texas man is testing out-of-state abortions by asking a court to subpoena his ex-partner
- Idea of You Actor Nicholas Galitzine Addresses Sexuality
- Iowa facility that mistreated residents with intellectual disabilities nears closure
Recommendation
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
At least 3 killed as storms slam southeast after tornadoes bring devastation to Midwest
RFK Jr. says he suffered from a parasitic brain worm and mercury poisoning
NBA draft lottery: Which teams have best odds to reel in this year's No. 1 pick
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
House votes to kill Marjorie Taylor Greene's effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson
Brian Kelly says LSU won't buy transfers, but long-term plan has Tigers short-handed this season
Idea of You Actor Nicholas Galitzine Addresses Sexuality