The Onion Acquires Infowars, Turns Site into Parody Accepting Bitcoin Payments

Visitors to The Onion's new Infowars site can now pay with Bitcoin for a "barrage of humor."

As of November 14, 2024, the CEO of The Onion announced that Infowars will become a parody of its own extreme views. Infowars, once linked to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, is known for defaming victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The site was recently bought out of bankruptcy.

In a surprising twist, The Onion revealed it would accept Bitcoin from fans of Infowars. “The Onion is proud to acquire Infowars, and we look forward to continuing its storied tradition of scaring the site’s users with lies until they fork over their cold, hard cash,” said Ben Collins, the publication’s CEO.

On Thursday, The Onion completed the acquisition of Infowars, the far-right media platform founded by Alex Jones. Instead of spreading disinformation, the new site promises to deliver a “relentless barrage of humor.”

This revamped Infowars aims to poke fun at itself by mocking figures like Jones. “Stand by for the funniest news you’ve ever heard in your life,” Collins tweeted, adding that he plans to create a “very stupid” website.

Under Jones, Infowars gained a large following by promoting harmful conspiracy theories. After the tragic Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, where 20 children and six adults were killed, Jones claimed it was a “hoax” staged by actors.

The families of the victims sued Jones for defamation and emotional distress. After several legal battles, a court ordered him to pay about $1.5 billion in damages. Jones then filed for bankruptcy.

The Onion’s acquisition of Infowars has the support of Sandy Hook families. Additionally, Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun safety advocacy group, has signed on as the exclusive advertiser for the new program.

The Onion wasted no time in publishing an article about the deal. They humorously stated, “In a stroke of good fortune, a formidable special interest group has outwitted the hapless owner of InfoWars (a forgettable man with an already-forgotten name) and forced him to sell it at a steep bargain: less than one trillion dollars,” according to parody CEO Bryce P. Tetraeder.

The fictional CEO, who Collins mentioned is unavailable for comments, added that the future direction of Infowars is still undecided.