Infowars Acquired by The Onion, Will Become a Parody of Itself

Alex JonesBriana Sanchez/Zuma

Conspiracy mega-site Infowars, whose founder and main host Alex Jones has become the face of monetized suspicion in America, has been acquired at a bankruptcy auction by the satirical news company The Onion. They plan to relaunch Infowars as a parody of itself, with backing from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates for gun law reform. The news was first reported by The New York Times.

On Thursday morning, Jones broadcast a flabbergasted and defiant monologue, calling the news “insane” saying he wouldn’t go off air until someone came in and forced him out with a court order. “They’re in the control room,” Jones said on air. “Imperial Troops are through the glass.”

“It is a distinct honor to be here in defiance of the tyrants,” Jones declared at one point. 

Ben Collins, The Onion’s CEO and a former journalist covering disinformation at NBC News, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Mother Jones. The bankruptcy court-ordered auction process for Infowars concluded yesterday; the bids were secret and considered behind closed doors by a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, Christopher Murray. The process surprised some close to the situation, who told Mother Jones they’d thought the bids should be considered publicly. Murray also did not respond to a request for comment. 

During Thursday morning’s broadcast, a producer came in as Jones continued to broadcast and announced off-camera that “they” were working on “shutting it down momentarily,” meaning both Infowars and Banned.video, another site that’s used to broadcast Infowars content. Jones then called Steve Bannon on speakerphone, who released a string of audible profanity before Jones cut him off. Bannon implored Jones’ crew to film the supposed raid.

In an interview with the Times, Collins didn’t disclose how much The Onion paid for Infowars but said it would re-launch in January making fun of “weird internet personalities” like Alex Jones. He also said the Sandy Hook families were “supportive,” as the Times put it, of the bid.

Jones had signaled that he was “working with” a group of what he called “good guy” buyers, including former Trump advisor and longtime Infowars personality Roger Stone, who apparently did not, in the eyes of the trustee, mount the best bid. Jones, unsurprisingly, declared the process to be rigged.

As Jones continued to frantically broadcast, he also, rather unconvincingly, declared himself to be at peace with the decision and encouraged people to visit a new, eponymous news site he had already set up. “All you’re doing is shutting down the building and taking away AlexJones.com and the Infowars store,” he said, listing virtually everything of value in his company. “We got funds coming in. We got high-powered lawyers. We’re moving forward. The tide has turned.” 

At another point, Jones explained, “You’ll notice I got really fat years ago because I just didn’t care about myself.” It was during this time he realized “these people really want to destroy me,” he said, leading him to take up hiking and exercise.

“You want me depressed, you want me sad, you want me out of the game, you’re going to get the opposite,” he declared. “You’re going to get total peaceful information resistance. And I’ve got the people’s backing.”

Jones also said he would “spend time with my family,” “fight corruption” and “remove the Deep State from power.”  In the meantime, Infowars could be shut down at any moment, though Jones said later in the broadcast that even if it went down temporarily he would seek an emergency court order to get back on air.

“They’re here,” Jones said, glancing off-screen, “saying the building is theirs.”