US satirical news organization The Onion has bought conspiracy website Infowars in a bankruptcy auction, pledging to use the domain to raise awareness about gun violence prevention.

Infowars was founded by Alex Jones, who confirmed the acquisition of The Onion but vowed to file legal challenges to stop it.

Jones owes more than $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) after he was found in court to have defamed the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which he falsely claimed was a hoax.

The shooting took place in the US state of Connecticut in 2012 and is one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history.

Relatives of many of the 20 children and six educators killed in the shooting sued Jones and his company for defamation and emotional distress for repeatedly saying on his show that the shooting was a hoax staged by crisis actors to push for more gun control.

The parents and children of many of the victims testified that they had been traumatized by Jones’ conspiracies and threats from his followers.

“The liquidation of Alex 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 shooting in Connecticut, in a statement provided by his lawyers.

The Onion has acquired the conspiracy theory platform’s website, social media accounts, Austin, Texas studio, trademarks and video archive. The sale price was not immediately disclosed.

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

“Everytown will continue to raise awareness on InfoWars about gun violence prevention and present real solutions to our nation’s gun violence crisis, including bipartisan, common sense measures and public safety initiatives supported by Everytown,” The Onion said in a statement Thursday. local time.

‘Relentless barrage of misinformation’ to be replaced with humour, Onion CEO says

Jones was broadcasting live from the Infowars studio when the sale was confirmed and appeared distraught, putting his head in his hands at his desk.

After the sale, the top story on the Infowars site was: “Red Alert! Watch the final moments as the Media Empire officially shuts down via Deep State Lawfare.”

Among those who appeared on Jones’ live stream immediately after the auction was Steve Bannon, who was previously an adviser in the first Donald Trump administration.

Bannon urged Jones to continue broadcasting until he was forced off the air.

The Onion’s offer outbid a number of potential buyers, consisting of both supporters and detractors of Jones.

In a statement, The Onion’s chief executive Ben Collins said the organization wants to replace Infowars’ “relentless barrage of misinformation” with “The Onion’s relentless barrage of humor.”

“The Onion is proud to acquire Infowars, and we look forward to continuing its storied tradition of scaring website users with lies until they drop their cold, hard cash,” he said.

The families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting have backed the satire site’s bid, saying it would put an end to the disinformation machine.

The Onion bills itself as “the world’s leading news publication, providing highly regarded and universally respected coverage of breaking national, international and local news events.”

It claims to have 4.3 trillion daily readers.

Reuters/AP