Alex Jones built Infowars to expose government secrets, a judge just handed it to The Onion to run as a parody site

The satirical news outlet The Onion is making a move to take control of Alex Jones’ Infowars platform. A new plan submitted to a Texas state judge would grant The Onion a temporary license to the intellectual property of Free Speech Systems, the parent company behind Infowars. If Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin approves the proposal, The Onion could start placing its own content on the Infowars website and social media accounts as early as April 30.

According to AP News, Ben Collins, the chief executive of The Onion, has confirmed that the organization is already preparing for this transition. They have started hiring talent to run the site as a parody platform, including Tim Heidecker, who is well known for his work on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programs. 

Collins said during a phone interview that they plan to build this into a bigger comedy network, and that profits from the new operations would go to the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.

The Onion stepping in is a direct result of Jones’ massive legal and financial collapse over Sandy Hook lies

Collins also explained the motivation behind the move. He pointed out that news consumption is often dominated by people who have no idea what the “expletive” they are talking about, staring into cameras and pushing conspiracy theories or dangerous health hacks. By creating a variety of characters and worlds around these types of tropes, The Onion intends to shift the tone of the platform entirely.

Jones is currently facing more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for his false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax staged by crisis actors to promote gun control. The shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, killed 20 first graders and six educators, and many relatives of the victims and a responding FBI agent pursued legal action against Jones for defamation and emotional distress.

During the 2022 trial in Connecticut, family members testified about the harassment they faced from Jones’ followers, including death threats and abusive online comments. A jury and judge ultimately ordered Jones to pay more than $1.4 billion in damages, and a separate lawsuit in Texas resulted in nearly $50 million in additional awards. 

Despite this, Jones is not giving up without a fight. On his show Monday, he vowed to challenge the licensing proposal in court, though he admitted that he and his crew might be forced out of their current building by the end of the month. Jones has also made headlines recently for going off-script on air with wild remarks that have drawn widespread attention.

Jones has been preparing a new studio and plans to continue broadcasting on his personal X account, along with other new social media channels and websites. He stated that he will simply call his program The Alex Jones Show and keep operating from a different location. He also continues to sell merchandise, including dietary supplements and clothing, which generate millions of dollars each year for his business.

The proposed deal with The Onion would last for six months, with the option to renew for another six-month period while a court-appointed receiver works to liquidate the assets of Free Speech Systems.  The receiver supports the plan, which includes The Onion paying $81,000 a month to cover rent, utilities, and other costs for the Infowars studio building.

The broader political media landscape has also been shifting, with figures like Joe Rogan publicly questioning whether recent U.S. military actions serve American interests. This is not the first time The Onion has tried to take over. A bankruptcy auction held in November 2024 initially named The Onion as the winning bidder for Infowars’ assets, but a bankruptcy judge later threw out those results due to concerns about the process. 

The legal battle has since moved to a state court in Texas, and Jones is currently appealing that court’s ruling, which has created a temporary hold on the process. For now, the future of Infowars rests in the hands of the court, as the legal fight between the victims’ families and Jones continues.