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The Onion launches Alex Jones parody, sends $100,000 to Sandy Hook families
🇺🇸 United States /Culture & Society

The Onion launches Alex Jones parody, sends $100,000 to Sandy Hook families

From PBS NewsHour · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The Onion has launched a parody of Alex Jones' Infowars platform on its own website.
  • The satirical site will donate $100,000 from merchandise sales to Sandy Hook families, who are still awaiting compensation from Jones.
  • The parody aims to spoof Jones' conspiracy theories and aggressive content, while the families seek to prevent him from profiting further.

The satirical news site The Onion has launched a parody of Alex Jones' conspiracy platform, Infowars, on its own website, more than a year after attempting to acquire the actual Infowars. The new venture, debuting Thursday, will direct $100,000 from initial merchandise sales to the families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Don't give comedy writers a grudge for 18 months

— Ben CollinsCEO Ben Collins commented on the long-standing effort to parody Alex Jones' platform.

These families have yet to receive any money from Jones, despite court orders mandating he pay over $1 billion for falsely claiming the 2012 shooting was a hoax. The Onion's parody merchandise, which combines the Infowars brand with The Onion's logo in rainbow colors, is the first step in channeling revenue to the victims' families. "Don't give comedy writers a grudge for 18 months," said CEO Ben Collins, whose company is still in legal battles to gain control of Infowars.

The parody will feature a series of shows and content mimicking Jones' style of blending conspiracy theories, dubious science, attacks on tragedy victims, and the sale of survival gear. Jones' persistent false claims about the Sandy Hook shooting, which killed 20 children and six adults, led his followers to harass and threaten the victims' families, labeling them "crisis actors."

All he's been left with is an iPhone and a fancy microphone

— Chris MatteiChris Mattei, an attorney for Sandy Hook families, described Alex Jones' current financial situation.

Despite Jones' Infowars empire once generating over $50 million annually, defamation judgments totaling $1.4 billion have forced him into bankruptcy. "All he's been left with is an iPhone and a fancy microphone," stated Chris Mattei, an attorney for nine Sandy Hook families. The families aim to ensure that "every dime Alex Jones makes from here until the end of eternity is going to be claimed by the families," Mattei added, seeking to prevent him from profiting from his falsehoods.

Every dime Alex Jones makes from here until the end of eternity is going to be claimed by the families

— Chris MatteiChris Mattei stated the families' intention to claim all future earnings from Alex Jones.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by PBS NewsHour in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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