Satirical publication L’Oignon said he purchased Infowars from Alex Jones at an auction for an undisclosed price, with the support of the Connecticut families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting and a first responder.

Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments to the families for calling the massacre a hoax. In a statement from their lawyers, the families said the purchase “ends the disinformation machine that Jones has used to defame the families and victims for years.”

The offers under sealed envelope were opened Wednesday at auction, who had been approved by a bankruptcy court earlier this year to allow Sandy Hook families to receive payments from Jones. The conspiracy theorist and his company filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after losing defamation and emotional distress lawsuits by Sandy Hook families after they repeatedly called the Connecticut school shooting a prank staged by “crisis actors.”

The purchase was confirmed by conspiracy theorist Jones, who posted a video on X saying The Onion had purchased his company. “Connecticut Democrats and the Onion newspaper bought us,” he said in his message, calling the bidding “competitive.”

The Sandy Hook families’ statement said the purchase includes Infowars’ intellectual property, which includes its website, customer lists and inventory, as well as certain social media accounts and production equipment used by Jones to broadcast its emissions.

“Connecticut families agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to increase the overall value of The Onion’s offering, enabling its success,” according to the release.

However, according to the Associated Press, on Thursday evening the federal judge overseeing Jones’ bankruptcy case ordered a hearing next week on how the auction was conducted.

Judge Christopher Lopez said he was concerned about the way the auction was conducted and ordered the hearing after complaints from attorneys for Jones and a Jones-affiliated company that bid 3 .5 million dollars, the AP reported.

CBS News has contacted The Onion for comment.

What will The Onion do with Infowars?

In a statement On social media site BlueSky, The Onion CEO Ben Collins said his company has plans for Infowars.

“We plan to make this a very funny and very silly website. We’ve enlisted the services of some Hall of Famers from Onion and Clickhole to make it happen. I can’t wait to show you what we’ve cooked up “, he wrote. .

The Onion said its “exclusive launch announcer” would be the gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety.

In a satirical article Posted on The Onion, the supposed CEO of Global Tetrahedron, The Onion’s parent company, said that “the decision to acquire InfoWars was an easy one for the Global Tetrahedron board.”

“Founded in 1999 in the wake of the Satanic ‘panic’ and growing steadily ever since, InfoWars has distinguished itself as an invaluable tool for brainwashing and controlling the masses,” wrote Bryce P. Tetraeder, CEO of Global Tetrahedron. “No price would be too high for such a cornucopia of assets and malleable minds.”

Were there other bidders for Infowars?

The other bidders were not disclosed, but Jones’ supporters and detractors had expressed interest in purchasing Infowars.

What are families saying about Sandy Hook?

The families and their lawyers said they hope the sale of Infowars will reduce Jones’ ability to spread conspiracy theories.

The sale of Jones’ assets and “the death of Infowars is the justice we have long waited for and fought for,” said Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the 2012 Connecticut shooting , in a press release provided by his lawyers.

“From day one, these families fought against all odds to bring Alex Jones and his corrupt deals to account,” Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut plaintiffs and a partner at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, said in a statement. “Our clients knew that true accountability meant the end of Infowars and the end of Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain and fear on a massive scale. After surviving unimaginable loss with courage and integrity, they rejected Jones’ empty offers for allegedly more money if they would only let him stay on the air because it would have put other families in danger.

contributed to this report.