The mainstream media failed to hold Alex Jones accountable for more than 30 years. A satire company is poised to do what journalism wouldn’t.
Ben Collins knows why. As a former far-right extremism reporter inside mainstream media, he watched newsrooms normalize and platform Alex Jones’ conspiracy theories in the name of “both sides” journalism. Now he’s chief executive officer of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron — the company poised to turn Infowars into the joke it’s always been.
Infowars founder Alex Jones owes more than $1.4 billion to Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting families after years of defamation and harassment. In 2024, a bankruptcy court thwarted The Onion’s winning bid to buy Infowars and share proceeds with the Sandy Hook families.
Last month, The Onion reached a deal to license the Infowars website and its intellectual property for six months. Then Jones won an appeal to stop the process. But the appeal could be overturned at any moment, allowing The Onion to finally have the last laugh over Infowars.
This week, Katelyn and Christine discuss the evolving situation with Collins. Why did it take a satire company to defeat Infowars? His answer is a structural indictment of journalism itself.
Cancel Me, Daddy is a progressive media criticism show hosted by journalists Katelyn Burns and Christine Grimaldi. New episodes every other week.
Links:
– Grab a discounted bundle subcription to Katelyn’s and Christine’s newsletters at their TrustFnd collab! https://ift.tt/YshfZQy
– Elizabeth Williamson for The New York Times: Here’s what Jones has said about Sandy Hook., https://ift.tt/fAv1Qg5
– Benjamin Mullin and Elizabeth Williamson for The New York Times: The Onion Has a New Plan to Take Over Infowars, https://ift.tt/6ioqBpy
– Pablo Torre for Pablo Torre Finds Out: How The Onion Finally Shut Up Alex Jones for Good (ft. Ben Collins), https://ift.tt/BrUNRd7
– Tovia Smith for NPR: The Onion’s bid to take over Infowars moves to the Texas Supreme Court, https://ift.tt/Hv4nt5iLinks:
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00:00 Why Alex Jones Is Still Here
01:56 How a Joke Company Bought a Conspiracy Empire
10:04 How Mainstream Media Fed the Extremism Machine
18:24 30 Years of Letting Alex Jones Win
25:54 Profiting Off Sandy Hook — and What That Broke
27:44 Who’s Actually Paying for Infowars?
28:20 Fighting Conspiracies With Comedy
30:28 So What Happens to Alex Jones Now?
32:05 What The Onion Will Actually Do With Infowars
34:07 Why Satire Did What Journalism Couldn’t
35:01 Ben Collins on What’s Next for The Onion
35:33 Out of Context Cancellations
via YouTube
