Satirical site The Onion, owned by former Twilio CEO and founder Jeff Lawson has bought misinformation site Infowars in a court ordered auction designed to raise money for the parents of children murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting who were defamed by Infowars founder Alex Jones.

The defamation case against InfoWars and its founder, Alex Jones, centres on false claims they made regarding the school shooting. Jones and his platform repeatedly alleged that the mass shooting, in which 20 children and six adults were killed, was a "hoax" staged by gun control advocates using actors. Families of the victims sued Jones for defamation, claiming that his statements led to years of harassment, emotional distress, and threats from his followers. The courts ultimately ruled against Jones, awarding substantial damages to the families. In 2022, juries in Texas and Connecticut ordered him to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages after finding that he had caused significant harm by spreading falsehoods. The case highlights the legal consequences of spreading misinformation and underscores the limits of free speech, particularly regarding defamatory and harmful claims

In typical Onion style, Bryce P. Tetraeder the fictional executive in charge of the Onion's actual owner Global Tetrahedron wrote, "We celebrate a new addition to the Global Tetrahedron LLC family of brands. 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. All told the decision to acquire InfoWars was an easy one for the Global Tetrahedron executive board."

"Founded in 1999 on the heels of the Satanic "panic" and growing steadily ever since, InfoWars has distinguished itself as an invaluable tool for brainwashing and controlling the masses. With a shrewd mix of delusional paranoia and dubious anti-aging nutrition hacks, they strive to make life both scarier and longer for everyone, a commendable goal. They are a true unicorn, capable of simultaneously inspiring public support for billionaires and stoking outrage at an inept federal state that can assassinate JFK but can't even put a man on the Moon."

Furthermore, The Onion noted, "Through it all, InfoWars has shown an unswerving commitment to manufacturing anger and radicalising the most vulnerable members of society-values that resonate deeply with all of us at Global Tetrahedron.

No price would be too high for such a cornucopia of malleable assets and minds, The Onion said.

The actual CEO of The Onion, Ben Collins, posted on Bluesky, "The Onion, with the help of the Sandy Hook families, has purchased InfoWars. We are planning on making it a very funny, very stupid website. We have retained the services of some Onion and Clickhole Hall of Famers to pull this off."