Onion Says 'Infowars Is Ours'

Alex Jones' conspiracy empire may soon be under new management—with a completely different approach to the day's news. Satirical outlet the Onion says it has struck a deal to take over InfoWars in an arrangement designed to start providing money to the families of Sandy Hook victims, who are owed more than $1 billion after winning defamation judgments against Jones. The agreement still needs court approval, CNN reports, capping an 18-month fight over Infowars' future. "We've wanted this the whole time," Onion CEO Ben Collins said, adding that the company hasn't wavered in its bid. "At Long Last, InfoWars Is Ours," a headline reads on the Onion's home page, which now flies the tweaked flag of Infowars.

Under the deal, the Onion would immediately begin paying a monthly licensing fee to the court-appointed receiver now controlling InfoWars' parent company, with a separate agreement to buy the assets outright once a judicial stay lifts. The arrangement follows a long legal detour: The Onion previously won a court-ordered auction for the company, backed by the Sandy Hook families, only to see a federal bankruptcy judge pause the sale over concerns about the process and send the families back to state court. A state judge later turned the company over to the receiver to be sold for the families' benefit.

"With the help of the Sandy Hook families, The Onion has reached a long-awaited deal to take over InfoWars," Onion CEO Ben Collins posted Monday online, per NBC News. The company intends to run Infowars as a digital platform and comedy network, and Collins said it will feature rising comics while skewering influencer culture, including the segment in which media figures hawk questionable supplements. The changes kicked off with a blending of the Onion and Infowars logos and a column by the legendary—as in, not real—CEO of the Onion's parent company laying out his and Global Tetrahedron's mocking vision. Comedian Tim Heidecker is leading the rebranding's creative direction.