The satirical news publication The Onion has won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction. The Onion, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, acquired the conspiracy theory platform's website, social media accounts, studio in Austin, Texas, trademarks, and video archive. The sale price has not been disclosed.
The Onion plans to relaunch Infowars in January 2025 as a parody of itself, mocking "weird internet personalities" like Jones. The gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety will be the site's "exclusive launch advertiser," according to a statement from The Onion.
The auction was part of the liquidation of Jones' assets to pay off defamation judgments owed to the families of Sandy Hook victims. Jones had repeatedly called the 2012 massacre a hoax on his show, leading to lawsuits filed by the victims' families. The families were awarded nearly $1.5 billion in total but have been unable to collect anything from Jones, who claimed he couldn't afford the sum and filed for bankruptcy in late 2022.
ABC News reports that Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, said in a statement, "The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for.”
Jones confirmed The Onion's acquisition of Infowars in a social media video and said he planned to file legal challenges to stop it. However, the sale had the backing of several of the Connecticut families of Sandy Hook shooting victims who were part of the lawsuit.