The Onion Relaunches Infowars As Legal Wrangling Continues

The Onion is 1 measurement person to taking complete Infowars.

The satirical news tract connected Monday launched a rebrand of right-wing commentator Alex Jones’ arguable level nether a licensing woody that nan Onion agreed to pinch a court-appointed administrator who is presently overseeing Infowars.

The administrator, Gregory Milligan, has asked a Texas territory judge to o.k. nan agreement. Under nan terms, first reported by The New York Times, nan Onion’s genitor company, Global Tetrahedron, would salary $81,000 a period to licence Infowars.com and nan Infowars marque for an first six months, pinch an action to renew for different six months.

On Monday afternoon, The Onion posted a short clip to societal media that featured its bulb logo trademark wrong nan “o” successful Infowars, alongside a satirical op-ed by Global Tetrahedron’s clone founder, Bryce Tetraeder.

“With nan thief of nan Sandy Hook families, The Onion has reached a long-awaited woody to return complete InfoWars,” Onion CEO Ben Collins wrote successful a station connected Bluesky Monday. (Collins antecedently covered disinformation and conspiracy theories for NBC News).

Creative guidance of nan rebrand is being led by comedian Tim Heidecker.

Representatives for Jones and The Onion did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The woody will not beryllium charismatic until nan judge approves it, and Jones tin entreaty immoderate ruling.

Jones grew to go 1 of nan astir well-known replacement media personalities pinch his Infowars brand, which he launched successful 1999. The cognition chiefly centered astir mendacious and often bizarre claims astir expansive conspiracies and authorities wrongdoing.

But nan destiny of Infowars has been successful limbo ever since Jones declared bankruptcy successful 2022 aft a assemblage awarded nan parents of a Sandy Hook shooting unfortunate $50 million.

A 2nd defamation suit involving Sandy Hook parents resulted successful nan largest-ever financial punishment successful specified a case, $1.4 billion. Jones has falsely claimed nan 2012 simple shooting, successful which 20 students and six adults were killed, was a hoax.

In 2024, a bankruptcy judge group up an auction for nan Infowars tract and brand, attracting conscionable 2 bidders: a institution representing Jones, and 1 representing The Onion. A bankruptcy trustee and nan families initially agreed to judge nan Onion’s bid contempt a perchance little valuation. Jones and his attorneys said nan bid was faulty, and nan trustee decided to move nan lawsuit to Texas wherever Jones’ first defamation suit occurred.