Satirical outlet The Onion has teamed up with US gun control group Everytown to place the winning bid on InfoWars, which right-wing commentator Alex Jones was forced to liquidate to pay legal debts. Several families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims, who won the judgment against Jones, reportedly also pitched in.
In 2022, a Connecticut judge ordered Jones to pay $1.5 billion to the families of those killed in the 2012 school massacre, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults. The plaintiffs argued that Jones caused them emotional damage by claiming the shooting was “staged” so the US government could enact draconian gun control laws. Lawyers for the families insisted on shutting down InfoWars and its parent company, Free Speech Systems LLC, to settle part of the debt.
“The Onion is proud to acquire Infowars, and we look forward to continuing its storied tradition of scaring the site’s users with lies until they fork over their cold, hard cash,” the…