The Onion buys rightwing conspiracy theory site Infowars with plans to make it ‘very funny, very stupid’

merde alors@sh.itjust.works to Technology@lemmy.world – 1756 points – The Onion buys rightwing conspiracy theory site Infowars with plans to make it ‘very funny, very stupid’
theguardian.com

Here’s Why I Decided To Buy ‘InfoWars’ By Bryce P. Tetraeder, Global Tetrahedron CEO ☞ https://theonion.com/heres-why-i-decided-to-buy-infowars/

And let me say, I really do see it as a family. Much like family members, our brands are abstract nodes of wealth, interchangeable assets for their patriarch to absorb and discard according to the opaque whims of the market. And just like family members, our brands regard one another with mutual suspicion and malice.

🤣

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Who did they give money to? Maybe it would've been better if they just created a offbrand infowars.

The assets were auctioned off to pay his debt to the families of the Sandy Hook shooting.
So effectively they gave money to the families of children killed in a school shooting that he slandered in cruel and vile ways.

Given that the families pretty reasonably dislike him, the added bonus of his creation being used to openly mock him and promote a message they endorse is quality icing on the cake.

One thing the headlines aren't mentioning is that the families actually even helped fund a portion of the Onion's bid.

In order to make the bid work, a lawyer representing the families told CNN that the families “agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to increase the overall value of the Onion’s bid, enabling its success”.

Ha! I didn't see that at first. I love "fuck you so hard that we can and will put a significant dollar value on it being more humiliating".

The sale follows a judge’s order earlier this year for Jones to liquidate his personal assets, to help him to pay off the $1.4bn he was ordered to pay the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting...

I believe this money goes to the victims' families

Probably the money paid for whomever Alex Jones lost lawsuits against -- so like Sandy Hook victims.

It was being auctioned for the victims but there was also the real risk that a supporter would win who would let him he continue on business as usual. So definitely money well spent.