The Onion on Thursday debuted a parody of Alex Jones' Infowars under its own site and pledged to send $100,000 from merchandise sales to families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims. The launch included a YouTube live premiere titled "Welcome to the Real Infowars" featuring comedian Tim Heidecker doing an impression of Jones and a site note that said, "Today we reclaim the standard of truth and deliver the first salvo in the final battle for your mind." CEO Ben Collins, whose company is still in court trying to take control of Infowars, said the parody will run a series of shows and spoof ads that mimic Jones' mix of conspiracies and product pitches and quoted, "Don't give comedy writers a grudge for 18 months." The Onion consulted Sandy Hook families, who were initially skeptical but concluded the effort could use Infowars branding to mock those who harmed them and prevent Jones from profiting. The article notes Jones was ordered to pay more than $1 billion for falsely calling the 2012 shooting a hoax, that Infowars once drew about 10 million monthly visitors and more than $50 million in annual revenue, and that $1.4 billion in defamation judgments forced Jones into bankruptcy. The Onion said spoof merchandise will combine Infowars branding with The Onion's logo, and the parody site will include recurring bits such as fake supplements and absurd offers in the style of Jones' previous sales pitches.
