EDITORIAL: Satirical justice: The Onion poised to pillory Alex Jones for harm he's caused

May 19-For years, Alex Jones - founder of the venomous, far-right, conspiracy-laden website Infowars - has hawked dietary supplements that promise longer life on his radio show and podcasts.

If they do as he claims, it might be karmic in the sense that he could face many years of being mocked and satirized for his vile conspiracy theories and the harm they have caused others.

Such a future could come soon as the Onion, the satirical and openly fake news website that often rings true, moves closer to taking control of Infowars. When it does, it's presumed the Onion will use Jones' creation to taunt him, as well as to extract from him some monetary compensation for his merciless tormenting of murdered children's parents.

Some conspiracy theories are silly and have relatively little tangible effect, such as the zombie claim that the moon landing was staged.

Such was not what Jones and Infowars peddled. And of all the conspiracy theories he vomited, the most evil, poisonous and damaging lie, by far, was that the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut - in which 20 children, ages 6 and 7, and six adults were fatally shot - was a hoax perpetrated to erode gun rights.

He accused the grieving parents of being character actors and claimed their children were still alive.

The families of two victims sued him for defamation in 2018 in Texas, where Infowars is headquartered, and relatives of eight other victims sued him in Connecticut. In 2022, a Texas jury awarded the parents of one victim $50 million.

That year, Jones filed for bankruptcy, followed not long after by a Connecticut jury ordering him to pay nearly $1 billion to the families of eight victims and an FBI agent. A judge later added $473 million in punitive damages to the award.

Jones appealed those judgments to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case last October.

In 2024, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ordered the liquidation of all equipment, intellectual property and other assets owned by Infowars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, so Jones' debts to the families could be paid.

During the subsequent auction, the Onion won the bidding, but a judge nullified it, citing procedural problems.

Recently, however, the Onion reached a potential deal in which it will lease the site for six months for $81,000 a month from a court-appointed administrator with an option to renew. The Onion plans to buy all the site's assets. This seems likely to transpire, even though Jones' legal team filed an emergency motion that led to a Texas court pausing the deal until a May 28 hearing.

Initially, the Onion plans to make the website a platform to pillory Jones and highlight the absurdities of the man and the toxic things he says - an effort to defang him so he can no longer harm people. The Onion said it will also sell merchandise and share the proceeds with the Sandy Hook families.

Still, the damage Jones has done is incalculable. It's tempting to call him a buffoon, but that's unfair to buffoons who, while foolish and incompetent, only hurt themselves.

In court, Jones said that he now believes the shooting was real and that calling it a hoax was irresponsible, yet on a recent broadcast, he accused the parents of "playing the victims."

Jones isn't a buffoon. He's a contemptible and immoral charlatan who's made millions exploiting other people's agony. He denied the humanity, deaths and dignity of murdered children - dishonoring their memories and burdening their grieving families with more pain.

While we know he's immune from shame, perhaps seeing his Infowars used to engender disgust and contempt for Jones will force him to face his actions in a way that court judgments haven't.

To the Onion, we wish success in its endeavor. And to Jones, long life.

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