No Kidding: The Onion Acquires Alex Jones' Infowars

The satirical news outlet The Onion has purchased Alex Jones' conspiracy theory platform Infowars after roughly 18 months of proceedings in a Texas bankruptcy court, the company announced Monday.

Onion CEO Ben Collins said the deal includes the Infowars studio, website, intellectual property, and other assets. The company plans to share profits from the operation with victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who were awarded roughly $1.5 billion in defamation judgments against Jones.

"We want them to be able to get paid for real at some point with actual human dollars as part of this process," Collins told independent journalist Pablo Torre. "We have taken over the Infowars studio and the IP and the website and all of that stuff."

The transition is expected to be finalized within a couple of days. Collins said the outlet intends to continue programming under the Infowars brand with rebranding — including replacing the "o" in the logo with The Onion's symbol — and may bring on comedian Tim Heidecker as a potential new host.

The acquisition stems from Jones' legal losses. He was found liable in Texas and Connecticut courts for defaming families of the 20 children and six adults killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre by calling them "crisis actors." Jones filed for bankruptcy, leading to the forced sale of Free Speech Systems assets, including the South Austin studio and production equipment, to pay the judgments.

Jones had attempted to block the sale to The Onion in 2024, but a judge rejected his efforts. Last month, he hinted at the impending shutdown on a podcast, saying, "We've beaten so many attacks. But, finally, we're shutting down in the middle of next month."