UPDATE: The Infowars website was offline as of 10:35 a.m. EST.
The Onion has purchased Infowars in a bankruptcy auction and plans to turn it into a satirical version of the iconic brand.
The purchase was helped by families of 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, whose founder, Alex Jones, owes $1 billion in damages after being sued for defamation over former claims that the massacre was a hoax.
The purchase includes the Infowars website, Texas studio, social media accounts, trademarks, and video archive.
“Last broadcast now live from Infowars studios. They are in the building. Are ordering shutdown without court approval,” Jones said in a video posted from his personal account to X on Thursday morning.
BREAKING: Democrats Are On Their Way To The Building To Shut InfoWars Down Now– Alex Jones Explains The Future of InfoWars In This Critical Emergency Broadcast https://t.co/eBE30t4Gf6
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) November 14, 2024
Jones was streaming from the studio after the purchase was announced. He wrote in a post on X, with a live feed, that “Democrats Are On Their Way To The Building To Shut InfoWars Down Now– Alex Jones Explains The Future of InfoWars In This Critical Emergency Broadcast.”
The winning bid amount has not been publicly disclosed and bidders had to sign nondisclosure agreements. According to a report from NPR, the brand would not necessarily go to the highest bidder.
“Whoever wins the auction might not necessarily be the highest bidder. The U.S. trustee has broad discretion to ‘determine the highest or otherwise best bid or bids’ [emphasis added] according to the auction firms Tranzon Asset Advisors and ThreeSixty Asset Advisors,” the report explains.
A source involved in the bidding told The Gateway Pundit that Jones’s allies had made an unsuccessful seven-figure offer in an attempt to save the company.
Infowars is being shut down now! pic.twitter.com/nb4loGvL12
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) November 14, 2024
NBC News reports, “The Onion plans to shutter Jones’ InfoWars and rebuild the website featuring well-known internet humor writers and content creators, according to a person with knowledge of the sale.”
“The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the shooting, told the Associated Press in a statement provided by his lawyers.
According to the AP report, the new owner’s first advertiser will be Everytown for Gun Safety, an anti-Second Amendment organization.
“Everytown will continue to raise awareness on InfoWars’ channels about gun violence prevention and present actual solutions to our nation’s gun violence crisis, including bipartisan, common-sense measures and public safety initiatives backed by Everytown,” The Onion said in a statement Thursday.
Jones has said that he will be challenging the purchase in court. He has also launched the Alex Jones Network, which you can follow on X here.
LIVE: The Auction To Sell Infowars And Take Alex Jones Off The Air Is Happening Right Now! Tune In As Alex Jones & Crew Break Down The Latest Developments As We Take America Back! https://t.co/312A238lz9
— Alex Jones Network (@AJNlive) November 13, 2024
