How will Infowars transition from Jones' conspiracy theory soapbox to the satirical style of its new owners? Yesterday, satirical news site The Onion was announced as the winning bidder of Alex Jones’ Infowars, following an auction triggered by the conspiracy theorist’s bankruptcy. Jones, 50, rose to prominence as a far-right commentator who spread fake news and conspiracy theories through his radio shows since the 90s. Founded in 1999, Infowars grew into Jones’ premier platform with a peak annual turnover of close to $80 million (€75 million).
On Infowars, Jones gained a reputation for cosying up to far-right theories as well as promoting his own bizarre takes. Famously, Jones shouted once that the Obama administration was putting chemicals in the water to “turn the friggin’ frogs gay”. Jones’ nonsense bit him back after he promoted the conspiracy theory that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax perpetrated in part by the US government as part of an effort to expand gun control.
He called the parents of slain children “crisis actors” on his show and said the shooting was “phoney as a three-dollar bill”. After separate defamation lawsuits were filed in Connecticut and Texas by family members of victims, Jones acknowledged in 2022 that the shooting was “100% real” and said it was “absolutely irresponsible” to call it a hoax. Victims’ families who sued Jones said they were subjected to years of torment, threats and abuse by people who believ.