Ryan Knutson

So what do you think is going to happen next?

That's all for today, Tuesday, November 19th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Megumi Fujikawa, Adriana Marchese, and Kosako Narioka. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

That's all for today, Tuesday, November 19th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Megumi Fujikawa, Adriana Marchese, and Kosako Narioka. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

That's all for today, Tuesday, November 19th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Megumi Fujikawa, Adriana Marchese, and Kosako Narioka. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

Yesterday, the company that owns the satirical news organization The Onion shared some news that almost seemed like a parody. The Onion was going to buy InfoWars.

Yesterday, the company that owns the satirical news organization The Onion shared some news that almost seemed like a parody. The Onion was going to buy InfoWars.

Yesterday, the company that owns the satirical news organization The Onion shared some news that almost seemed like a parody. The Onion was going to buy InfoWars.

InfoWars was owned by the far-right media personality Alex Jones and was up for sale as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. To a lot of people, the news came as a big, hilarious surprise.

InfoWars was owned by the far-right media personality Alex Jones and was up for sale as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. To a lot of people, the news came as a big, hilarious surprise.

InfoWars was owned by the far-right media personality Alex Jones and was up for sale as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. To a lot of people, the news came as a big, hilarious surprise.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knudson. It's Friday, November 15th. Coming up on the show, why The Onion bought InfoWars and what it plans to do with it.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knudson. It's Friday, November 15th. Coming up on the show, why The Onion bought InfoWars and what it plans to do with it.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knudson. It's Friday, November 15th. Coming up on the show, why The Onion bought InfoWars and what it plans to do with it.

How InfoWars ended up in the hands of The Onion started with a conspiracy theory. In 2012, a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school, the Sandy Hook Massacre. Soon after the tragedy, Alex Jones started to spread lies about it through his platform on InfoWars.

How InfoWars ended up in the hands of The Onion started with a conspiracy theory. In 2012, a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school, the Sandy Hook Massacre. Soon after the tragedy, Alex Jones started to spread lies about it through his platform on InfoWars.

How InfoWars ended up in the hands of The Onion started with a conspiracy theory. In 2012, a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school, the Sandy Hook Massacre. Soon after the tragedy, Alex Jones started to spread lies about it through his platform on InfoWars.

saying that the shooting, and others like it, were hoaxes, that the victims and their families were just actors, and that it was all a pretext for the government to take away guns. In response, families of the Sandy Hook victims sued Jones for defamation, and they won. A judge ordered Jones to pay the families $1.4 billion in damages.

saying that the shooting, and others like it, were hoaxes, that the victims and their families were just actors, and that it was all a pretext for the government to take away guns. In response, families of the Sandy Hook victims sued Jones for defamation, and they won. A judge ordered Jones to pay the families $1.4 billion in damages.

saying that the shooting, and others like it, were hoaxes, that the victims and their families were just actors, and that it was all a pretext for the government to take away guns. In response, families of the Sandy Hook victims sued Jones for defamation, and they won. A judge ordered Jones to pay the families $1.4 billion in damages.

Following the trial, Jones filed for bankruptcy, saying he didn't have the money to pay them, which kicked off a lengthy bankruptcy court case and an auction to sell some of his assets to pay the families. One of those assets was InfoWars, and that gave Ben Collins an idea.