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NEW YORK — The parody news website The Onion bought conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars brand and website in a bankruptcy auction, according to court documents filed on Thursday.
Jones filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022 after courts ordered him to pay $1.5 billion for defaming the families of 20 students and six staff members killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Jones, unable to pay those legal judgments, was forced to auction his assets, including Infowars, in bankruptcy.
The Connecticut families of eight victims of the school shooting backed the bid, saying it would put "an end to the misinformation machine" that Jones operated.
Additionally, Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country, said it will serve as the exclusive advertiser on the new Infowars.
The Onion will be acquiring Infowars' intellectual property, including its website, customer lists and inventory, certain social media accounts and the Infowars production equipment, the families added in their statement.
CEO Ben Collins said in a statement it aims to replace "Infowars' relentless barrage of disinformation" with their own "relentless barrage of humor ... until they fork over their cold, hard cash."
"They're shutting us down," Jones said on social media site X. "I'm going to be here until they come in here and turn the lights off."
