In an unexpected turn of events, satirical news outlet The Onion has purchased Infowars, the controversial media platform run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, at a court-ordered auction.
The sale comes after a lengthy legal battle for Jones, who was ordered to pay $1.4 billion in damages to the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting for spreading false claims about the tragedy.
In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter), Jones confirmed the acquisition, lamenting that his bankruptcy proceedings had led to the closure of his site.
“The Connecticut Democrats with the Onion newspaper bought us,” Jones said. CEO Ben Collins of The Onion’s parent company, however, was more upbeat about the purchase.
In a post on Bluesky, Collins announced plans to revamp Infowars, stating, “We are planning on making it a very funny, very stupid website.”
Sandy Hook families’ involvement helps make The Onion’s Infowars purchase a reality.He also revealed that popular internet humor writers and content creators would be involved in the project.
The Onion’s acquisition includes Infowars’ intellectual property, website, social media accounts, and production equipment.
Though the sale price remains undisclosed, the transaction was made possible, in part, by the Sandy Hook families, who agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to increase the value of the bid, according to CNN.
Chris Mattei, an attorney for the families, emphasized that the acquisition was part of holding Jones accountable for his past actions.
As news of the sale spread, Jones responded defiantly, streaming live on X to voice his outrage.
He continued to promote his conspiracy theories, including unfounded claims about the upcoming Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Infowars.com was temporarily taken offline, displaying a simple message: “Site unavailable till further notice.”
This unexpected chapter marks the beginning of what many hope will be the end of Infowars’ reign of misinformation and a step toward accountability for Alex Jones.