CHICAGO — The Onion, the renowned satirical news outlet, has set its sights on an ambitious new venture. As Alex Jones’ Infowars faces liquidation due to over $1 billion in defamation penalties owed to the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, The Onion is proposing to take over its platforms.
In a proposal filed on Monday with a state judge in Texas, The Onion seeks a temporary, exclusive license to use the intellectual property of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems. This would enable the satirical outlet to publish its own content on Infowars’ website and social media channels.
Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, shared that if Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin approves the plan, the transition could be finalized by April 30. The Onion has already begun assembling a team to transform Infowars into a parody platform, including hiring Tim Heidecker of the comedy duo Tim and Eric, famed for their work on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim.”
“Our vision is to expand this into a larger comedy network,” Collins remarked in a phone interview on Monday. He also mentioned that profits from this venture would benefit the Sandy Hook families.
Collins elaborated on the concept, “In today’s media landscape, people often encounter figures who spout baseless conspiracy theories or promote dubious health advice. We aim to craft a parody universe that satirizes these phenomena through a variety of characters and narrative worlds.”
The backdrop to this development is the tragic 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 first graders and six educators lost their lives. In the aftermath, Alex Jones notoriously claimed the tragedy was a hoax orchestrated by “crisis actors” to push for gun control. This led to numerous defamation lawsuits from victims’ families and an FBI agent who responded to the incident, seeking justice for the emotional turmoil inflicted by Jones’ claims.
On his show Monday, Jones vowed to fight the licensing proposal in court but acknowledged he and his crew could be kicked out of the building at the end of the month. He said he would continue his shows in another studio he is preparing, and they would air on his personal X account and other new social media accounts and websites, as well as dozens of radio stations. He also has set up new websites for the merchandise he sells, including dietary supplements and clothing that bring in millions of dollars a year.
“I’m going to continue the exact same show,” he said. “It’ll just be called the ‘Alex Jones Show.’ So, it’s the same satellite, same system. It’s a different news site and news studio. So I’m not going anywhere.”
The licensing deal with The Onion would be for six months, with the right to renew it for another six months as a court-appointed receiver works to eventually sell the assets of Infowars’ parent company, Austin-based Free Speech Systems, and give proceeds to the Sandy Hook families. The receiver is supporting the plan, which calls for The Onion to pay $81,000 a month to cover the rent for the building housing Infowars’ studios, along with utilities and other costs.
During a trial of the defamation suit in Connecticut in 2022, victims’ relatives testified that people whom they called followers of Jones subjected them to death and rape threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media over the hoax claims. Jones argued there was never any proof that linked him to the actions of others.
A jury and judge awarded the families and the FBI agent more than $1.4 billion in damages. In a similar lawsuit in Texas, the parents of a child killed at Sandy Hook were awarded nearly $50 million. Jones appealed both awards. He lost his challenges to the Connecticut judgment, while his appeal of the Texas award is still pending.
Jones filed for bankruptcy in late 2022. In those proceedings, an auction was held in November 2024 to liquidate Infowars’ assets to help pay the defamation judgments, and The Onion was named the winning bidder. But the bankruptcy judge threw out the auction results, citing problems with the process and The Onion’s bid.
The attempt to sell off Infowars’ assets later moved to the state court in Texas, where Guerra Gamble appointed a receiver to liquidate the assets of Jones’ company. Jones is also appealing that ruling, which has put a hold on the liquidation.
A lawyer for the Sandy Hook families who sued Jones in Connecticut said they support The Onion’s plan.
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