InfoWars is sold to satirical news outlet, The Onion
In a surprising turn of events, the satirical news website The Onion has won a bankruptcy auction to acquire InfoWars, the controversial fringe right-wing website known for spreading conspiracy theories. The acquisition marks a significant shift in the landscape of online news, with the goal of ending InfoWars' disinformation and replacing it with humor.
The Onion's new CEO, Ben Collins, a former NBC News reporter, expressed his hopes to make a cosmic joke of InfoWars, providing closure to families affected by Alex Jones' harassment. The acquisition was supported by the families in Connecticut, who agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to aid in the purchase.
InfoWars, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars annually through the sale of supplements, went offline after the auction concluded on Thursday. The new owner of InfoWars remains undisclosed, with no announcement date for the takeover mentioned in the search results.
Despite bankruptcy, Alex Jones was ordered to pay over $1.4 billion dollars in damages from defamation lawsuits. Jones, who has acknowledged that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was not a false flag operation, has faced criticism for spending nearly $100,000 a month on personal expenses amid bankruptcy proceedings.
The acquisition was not a solo venture for The Onion. Jeff Lawson, the billionaire founder of Twilio, was also involved in the purchase. The Onion has partnered with Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit advocating for gun control, in the acquisition. Everytown has signed a multi-year advertising agreement and will be the exclusive advertiser on InfoWars during the relaunch period.
The Onion plans to scare InfoWars users with lies until they pay, either in Bitcoin or cold, hard cash. However, the details of this strategy remain unclear. Chris Mattei, attorney for the Connecticut plaintiffs, stated that the families fought for accountability and an end to InfoWars.
As The Onion returns to producing videos in its classic style under its new ownership, it remains to be seen how InfoWars will be transformed. Alex Jones has announced that he will continue to broadcast live on X and restart his eponymous show on a new website. Despite these plans, it is uncertain how long InfoWars can continue to operate without its primary source of revenue.
In Texas, where InfoWars is based, bankruptcy does not affect Alex Jones' personal assets. Jones is allowed to keep his personal home in Austin valued at $2 million, despite the financial troubles of InfoWars. The future of InfoWars under The Onion's ownership and the impact on its users and the broader online community remain topics of ongoing discussion and speculation.
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