The Onion acquires Alex Jones' InfoWars assets after Sandy Hook defamation ruling

The Onion wins bid for Alex Jones' InfoWars assets, plans relaunch as satire site in January.

The satirical news platform The Onion has successfully acquired the assets of Alex Jones’ controversial media site InfoWars following a significant legal battle. The acquisition comes after Jones was ordered to pay $1.4 billion in a defamation lawsuit filed by families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, a case that led to the bankruptcy of Jones' Free Speech Systems.

In a statement, The Onion announced plans to relaunch InfoWars in January as a satire-focused platform, aiming to replace the site's history of conspiracy theories with humor. The deal, supported by the Sandy Hook families who won the defamation judgment, also includes a partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety through a multi-year advertising agreement.

“The Onion’s goal with the acquisition is to end InfoWars’ relentless barrage of disinformation... and replace it with The Onion’s relentless barrage of humor,” the publication said.

Jones had used InfoWars to falsely claim that the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, which resulted in years of harassment for the victims' families. Attorney Chris Mattei, who represented the Sandy Hook families, commended their resolve, saying, “They rejected Jones’ hollow offers... and have done a public service by divesting Jones of InfoWars’ assets.”

The new ownership group behind The Onion, Global Tetrahedron, includes media figures such as Jeff Lawson and Ben Collins, who also serves as CEO. Collins stated, “We hope the Sandy Hook families will marvel at the cosmic joke we will soon make of InfoWars.com.”

Even prior to the acquisition, The Onion had drawn attention to mass shootings with a recurring satirical headline, “No Way To Prevent This, Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens,” underscoring the ongoing gun violence crisis.