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The Onion Buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at Auction With Help from Sandy Hook Families

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The Onion Buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at Auction With Help from Sandy Hook Families

As a seasoned moviegoer who has witnessed countless tales of power struggles, corruption, and redemption, I find myself captivated by this latest chapter unfolding between Alex Jones, The Onion, and the Sandy Hook families. Having spent years navigating through the labyrinthine world of fictional narratives, I can’t help but draw parallels between the stories I’ve seen on the silver screen and the real-life drama now unfolding.

In a recent auction, the satirical news platform The Onion emerged as the successful bidder for Alex Jones’ Infowars, with support from families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. These families are owed over $1 billion in damages due to defamation lawsuits against Jones, who they claim falsely labeled the massacre a hoax.

The acquisition is set to transfer Jones’ long-standing business, known for spreading conspiracies and misinformation, into the hands of a humor website planning to reintroduce the Infowars platform in January, satirically. However, the judge overseeing Jones’ bankruptcy case expressed reservations about the auction process and has scheduled a hearing for next week following complaints from lawyers representing Jones and a company associated with him, who submitted a $3.5 million bid.

Shortly after the news broke about The Onion’s winning bid, Infowars’ website went offline, and Jones was broadcasting from a supposed new studio location. Up for grabs were Infowars’ website, social media platforms, Austin, Texas-based studio, trademarks, video library, and other valuable assets.

Robbie Parker, who lost his daughter Emilie in the 2012 Connecticut shooting, has expressed his long-awaited sense of justice with the liquidation of Alex Jones’ assets and the demise of Infowars, as stated by his legal team.

The humor-based publication, known as “America’s Best News Provider,” was established in the 1980s and has been relentless in its satire of politics and popular culture, frequently poking fun at figures like Jones through mocking articles. In response to mass shootings in the U.S., such as the Sandy Hook incident, this outlet often republishes slightly modified versions of one of its most famous recurring pieces: ” ‘There’s Nothing We Can Do,’ Says Nation Where Such Incidents Frequently Occur.

During his live stream, Jones exhibited anger and defiance, labeling the sale as a “full-blown assault on free expression.” Later, he disclosed that his show was being terminated. Subsequently, Jones continued his broadcast from a fresh studio nearby and streamed it live on his platforms at X.

During a Texas court hearing in Houston yesterday afternoon, the auction overseer, Christopher Murray, admitted that The Onion did not place the highest bid but argued it was a more favorable deal overall as some Sandy Hook families chose to waive a portion of the sale earnings to help pay off Alex Jones’ other debts. First United American Companies, linked to one of Jones’ product-selling platforms, made the only other bid. Murray mentioned he could not disclose the exact amount of The Onion’s offer.

Walter Cicack, legal representative for First United American Companies, informed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez that Murray made changes to the auction process just a few days prior, opting out of a bidding round scheduled for Wednesday where parties could increase their offers. Previously sealed bids were submitted a week ago, and only those were considered by the trustee, according to Cicack.

According to Murray, he adhered to the auction guidelines set by the judge’s ruling from September, which stated that the additional bidding round could be skipped. However, Lopez expressed shock that such a round didn’t occur and raised questions about the process’s openness.

He mentioned that everyone will attend a fact-finding session, and his aim is to clarify every detail about the recent event. He expressed discomfort regarding the outcome of the auction.

An exact date of next week’s hearing was not immediately set.

Following the court proceedings, Jones shared his viewpoint on his broadcast that he believed the auction was biased and hoped the judge would overturn the transaction. He has consistently communicated to his audience that if his followers emerged victorious in the bidding, he could remain on the Infowars platforms; however, he had also prepared a new studio, websites, and social media outlets should they become necessary.

He stated that it was an auction which never took place, featuring a bid that was significantly lower, using fictitious currency.

Ben Collins, head of Global Tetrahedron (which owns The Onion), shared with the Associated Press in a recent video chat that they intend to re-launch the Infowars website in January. Their approach will focus on satire targeting conspiracy theorists and right-wing figures, along with educational resources about gun violence prevention from Everytown for Gun Safety. Collins did not reveal the bid price.

“We thought it would be a very funny joke if we bought this thing, probably one of the better jokes we’ve ever told,” Collins said. “The (Sandy Hook) families decided they would effectively join our bid, back our bid, to try to get us over the finish line. Because by the end of the day, it was us or Alex Jones, who could either continue this website unabated, basically unpunished, for what he’s done to these families over the years, or we could make a dumb, stupid website, and we decided to do the second thing.”

In the auction, it wasn’t Jones who lost his high-following (over 3 million) personal X account. However, the judge overseeing the bankruptcy case is considering whether to allow the sale of these personal accounts, as proposed by the trustee.

Sandy Hook families sued Jones and his company for repeatedly saying on his show that the shooting that killed 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax staged by crisis actors to spur more gun control. Parents and children of many of the victims testified that they were traumatized by Jones’ conspiracies and threats by his followers. Jones has since acknowledged the shooting was “100% real.”

The newspaper known as “The Onion,” situated in Chicago, boasts itself as the world’s top news source, delivering exceptionally praised, universally respected coverage of breaking national, international, and local news events. Lately, some of its headlines have read: “Donald Trump’s Boys Engage in a Slapping Contest over Who Controls Foreign Policy Meetings,” “In Oklahoma, it is Compulsory to Display the Ten Commandments in Every Womb,” and “A Man Struggles to Clarify Differences Between Meteoroid and Meteorite after What Just Killed His Pet Dog.

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2024-11-15 05:06

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