1 week Ago
The fate of far-right website Infowars will be controlled by the Onion after the satirical news site emerged as the winning bidder of Wednesday’s private auction of the media company founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Infowars and its property are among the personal assets Jones was forced to sell in a court-ordered auction after a bankruptcy judge in June sought to compel Jones to pay the roughly $1.5 billion in damages he owes for claiming the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
Families who filed the Connecticut-based defamation lawsuit against Jones agreed to accept a smaller payout to increase the overall value of the Onion’s bid, which enabled its success, according to a Thursday statement from the families’ lawyers. The auction win gives the Onion control of Infowars’ website, archive, mailing list and production equipment, among other assets, ending Jones’ control of the media company after 25 years. “We were told this outcome would be nearly impossible, but we are no strangers to impossible fights.
The world needs to see that having a platform does not mean you are above accountability - the dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” Sandy Hook parent Robbie Parker said in a statement. Parker’s 6-year-old daughter, Emilie, was among the 20 children killed in the Sandy Hook shooting..
