Satirical news outlet The Onion isn’t going to wait for a judge’s order to launch the new InfoWars site it has been trying to acquire to support the families of children and teachers killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
InfoWars, formerly the right-wing website of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has been in limbo since he was sued for defamation for baselessly claiming the 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax. Jones was ordered by the courts to pay approximately $1.5 billion for spewing the lies, but declared bankruptcy in 2022. InfoWars was put up for auction in 2024 after Jones failed to pay the families of the massacre.
The Onion has been wrangling over the fate of the site in the courts over the last few months, but despite not having legal permission to publish under the InfoWars brand, the company announced it would launch July 2. “Get on board. InfoWars launches July 2, 8 p.m. EST,” the satirical news outlet said.
“We’re tired of waiting around,” The Onion’s CEO, Ben Collins, told MSNOW. In a memo to staff obtained by the outlet, Collins said the new site will include a parody of Jones’ old show and Sandy Hook families will receive more than $100,000 as an initial payment.
Two courts in Texas have the power to determine the next steps—the Third Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court—but the case has stalled after the appeals court approved an emergency motion by Jones’ lawyers that temporarily blocked the transfer of any InfoWars assets.
“Alex is holding Infowars.com hostage,” Collins told MSNOW. “He’s trying to intentionally degrade the assets so these families can never sell them, and the courts have largely obliged.”
“Somebody’s got to do this, or else he’ll get away with it,” he added.
“We will get it,” vowed comedian Tim Heidecker, the creative director of the new InfoWars site, in an interview with WIRED. “The timeline is the court moves slowly. We’re just plowing ahead.”
Sandy Hook families have endorsed the move and expressed their gratitude for the news outlet in a statement.
“We have worked for years to hold Alex Jones accountable and to dismantle his corrupt business,” Chris Mattei, an attorney representing some of the Sandy Hook families, told MSNOW. “That has required grit and resolve, qualities that The Onion has in spades. We’re grateful for The Onion’s continued commitment to taking over the husk that is Infowars and turning it into something good.”
The Onion said it plans to “transform one of the internet’s most notorious misinformation platforms into a new comedy network built for satire, internet culture and emerging creative voices” in a previous press release.
Jones melted down in April after The Onion announced the plans, accusing the brand of “stealing my identity” and “misrepresenting who I am.” He then became so mad about it, that he went on a furious shirtless rampage.
“Just because you’re wearing my shirt doesn’t mean you’re me, let’s be 100 percent clear about that,” the conspiracy theorist ranted.
“The whole thing’s about defaming me. You can’t take something over and then act like you’re somebody, even if you say it’s a parody,” he continued. “You could do a parody of somebody, but not if you took something from them… So you guys, keep laughing, just like you did a year and a half ago.”
