The Onion acquires Infowars in bankruptcy auction

The Onion, a satirical news outlet, has recently announced its acquisition of Infowars, the controversial website founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a bankruptcy auction.

Infowars is set to relaunch in January 2025 with a new focus on humour. In a statement posted to X (formerly, Twitter) on 14 November, The Onion declared its intention to change the platform. "The Onion's goal with the acquisition is to end Infowars' relentless barrage of disinformation for the sake of selling supplements and replace it with The Onion's relentless barrage of humour for good," the post read.

The acquisition was backed by the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who sued Alex Jones for spreading false claims about the tragedy. In 2022, Jones was ordered to pay over $1 billion in damages to the families, prompting him to file for bankruptcy later that year. In September, a judge approved the liquidation of Jones' assets, including Infowars.

In a video posted on X on 14 November, Alex Jones claimed, "I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and folks met with the US Trustee over our bankruptcy this morning, and they said they're shutting us down even without a court order." He also added, "The Connecticut Democrats with The Onion newspaper bought us."

The Onion has not disclosed the amount for the acquisition of Infowars.