The Onion wins Alex Jones’ Infowars at bankruptcy auction

The Onion, the satirical news outlet that repeatedly lampooned conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has won the bankruptcy auction for control of its media empire — most notably InfoWars, the far-right conspiracy website that served as Jones’ primary online platform.

Jones announced the sale on X Thursday morning.

“I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and people met with the US bankruptcy trustee this morning and they said they’re shutting us down even without a court order this morning,” Jones said.

“The Connecticut Democrats with The Onion bought us,” he added.

The Onion plans to shut down Jones’ InfoWars and rebuild the website with well-known internet humor writers and content creators, according to a person with knowledge of the sale.

Jones, one of the most high-profile and financially successful alternative media personalities, built a small empire from a radio show-turned-internet video operation centered around the Infowars brand, which focused on false and often bizarre allegations of grand conspiracies and government wrongdoing.

Details of Wednesday’s auction, including how much was offered for Free Speech Systems, Infowars’ parent company, and related assets, were not immediately known. Funds generated from the sale are intended to satisfy Jones’ estate creditors, made up mainly of the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, to whom he must pay damages in defamation judgments.

Sandy Hook families filed lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas, claiming Jones defamed them on his show and inflicted emotional distress by repeatedly suggesting the shooting, in which a gunman killed 20 first-grade children and six adults, was a hoax.

Juries awarded the families nearly $1.5 billion in total in their lawsuits, but they have been unable to collect anything from Jones, who claimed he cannot afford the huge sum. He filed for bankruptcy in late 2022, and a judge in June allowed him to liquidate his personal assets to help pay the judgments.

The sale had the support of several of the Connecticut families of the Sandy Hook shooting who were part of the lawsuit.

“Our clients knew that true accountability meant an end to Infowars and an end to Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain and fear on a grand scale,” Chris Mattei, attorney for the Connecticut families, said 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.”

Anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety said it will be the exclusive advertiser in The Onion’s new venture as part of a multi-year deal.

John Feinblatt, the group’s president, said in a statement that he hopes to “reach new audiences ready to hold the gun industry accountable for contributing to our nation’s gun violence epidemic.”