>> satirical >> news site.

The Onion is buying in towards the website founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and No, it's not a joke.

The purchase happened in a bankruptcy auction held after Jones was ordered to pay 1.5 billion dollars in a defamation lawsuit brought by families of Sandy Hook victims.

But Jones and company are fighting back claiming fraud and collusion.

Joining us now with more is Jordan LaFleur executive editor of The Onion.

Welcome Tonight.

Thank you for joining us.

Thanks for having So why did the Onion one of by and for wars?

Why not?

I mean, it was a >> just such a rare opportunity and >> you know, internally, when became a became aware that it was a possibility, we just immediately latched onto the idea that it would be the funniest possible thing that we could do.

We are resource appropriately.

We are eager and I think it's just gonna be the funniest thing ever.

What is the plan for the website Well, I mean, it's it's in need of a new coat of paint.

I'll tell you you know, supporting it as is not on the road map.

It is just a house of lies and fear-mongering and we think it would be better served by something other than that.

So we intend satirize imperative that the larger ecosystem of missing dis-information.

What kind of I mean, you and the onions known for its headlines.

What can we kind of expect from a >> info wars by the I think I mean, I mean, we're having meetings on this just today.

I think the best way that I would phrase it is that the onion is known to be more of an institutional voice.

That's steal, kind of a monolith, faceless organization one thing that's exciting for me creatively for the whole team is that informs will give us the opportunity to speak in the voice of particular characters.

>> And you know, there will be a whole host, a litany of characters that we can use parity have the existing site characters whose whose thinking and speaking might be something like Alex Jones and those who listen to and yes at early unhinged, fear-mongering and ultimately just an attempt to sell you ineffective, bring bills.

>> Alex Jones, he's still finding a way to peddle his, you know, his conspiracy theorists without owning info wars.

He has said that he's got a new thing all set up and ready to go was their hope that, you know, that buying his site might be able to block him from causing more warm I mean, any means of printing from causing more to be explored.

But now I think the important part here was to to take the brand and use it for good.

>> You know, I it's it's man of his constitution is that we knew would be impossible to silence and early.

But we look forward to using the brand for something other than he would have liked.

As we mentioned in the wars and other of Jones's assets are being liquidated.

He had to file for bankruptcy on to that.

He could pay.

>> The defamation case to the victims of Sandy Hook because he is known for being the person who pushed the falsehood that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut was a quote, unquote, hoax.

Talk about a little bit.

What the Onion is doing, though, actually to to push gun reform.

Absolutely.

I mean, >> we have a history with this one of our most effective pieces of satire and the 13 years that I've been at The Onion is a headline that people might be familiar with its no way to prevent this says only nation where this regularly happens.

And unfortunately, we've had to publish that 37 times in the aftermath of mass shootings and so we have a a history in this realm and an unfortunate one.

So the opportunity to work with every town to continue to further awareness gun violence and how to prevent it is just very rare opportunity for us when we're looking forward report you're referring to Everytown for Gun Safety.

That's right.

Thank you so much.

Yes.

>> So news follows again, the presidential election, Donald Trump being named President elect again.

Trump in Jones have ties and Vice President break.

President-elect JD Vance has even called Jones a truth teller.

How are you planning on covering a second Trump term?

>> Oh, boy, I don't want gloss over.

It will, in fact be difficult.

Donald Trump is a difficult figure to satirize one of the community tools that we frequently uses is heightening.

And it's difficult to heighten from such a place of bombast and untruth.

And so can to covering a hurricane, you know, like.

I think we focus on.

It's important to monitor where the hurricane is in the wind direction and whether to have 2 or 3.

But we are going to focus on the aftermath of casualties what he weighs lays waste to and how affecting real people.

You mentioned heightening is it is a tool that you using in comedy.

>> I know that is what is what does that Owen?

And when you take a basic premise that people understand and and essentially it's exaggeration as it's just how one path to a punchline and Bryce, he difficult rises.

President Trump difficult to satirize.

Well, because I mean the things that he says and doesn't just so utterly ridiculous that just on the face of it.

I mean, the simple way to put it is that it reads a satirical on the face of it.

>> And so to to to use something so heightened to use my own word again at when it starts from such a height in place.

It's a difficult jumping off point.

>> What do you think political satire, such a powerful tool when calling misinformation in political figures?

It can be a powerful tool.

I think it is most effective as a bomb ourselves to people who are watching the world and feeling and certain feeling angry.

I the most receptive audience is or the most important audiences for satire, you know, is the emperor that who's wearing clothes are trying to call it the emperor.

We're trying to let people know And there are people who who realize it.

I don't know that it is the most effective tool to change hearts and minds.

But I do think it's an effective tool to to to let people know that there are people watching and people understand what's happening.

>> As we mentioned, a company affiliated with Jones's website that sells supplements has asked the bankruptcy judge to disqualify your big claiming fraud and collusion.

Are you worried about this big being held up because of this?

This just thinks we're.

>> I mean, I am confident in our bed.

I think it shouldn't come as no surprise that this is what Alex Jones is doing.

I what I have found surprising is the credulous nus that a lot of traditional media has.

I reported these events with I think, you know, he gets a couple ways to generate a legal document and you get a bunch report responding to it as though it's equally impactful is genuine legal action.

It is utterly ridiculous.

>> What do you think satire can do that?

Traditional news can't I think we can call a spade a spade even though it's through the lens of a joke.

I think a lot of people, you know, are rightfully skeptical of traditional media.

I think traditional media can be a little mouth when they're evaluating controversial topics and political figures who have no concern for the truth.

We do it through the lens of of humor and jokes, but we can we can call people out more directly in a way that is more impactful people are more likely to retain.

>> New Info What can we expect?

We talked about that a little bit.

But you know, be live the URL, will that be the same?

I mentioned, yes, we absolutely intend or attend the arrow.

We want to win on the current Brandon just make it all the more painful for those finity for the the current version.

But hopefully January, we have something to show the world might be an incremental launch, but we we will be ready and some form or fashion in the new year, OK, any other big plans for branching out from there and see a lot of info You know, a video that's a lot that's enough.

New plans for one with But we the papers in ongoing concern and people ought to consider subscribing to its support.

The larger endeavor, the dollars that go towards those memberships in subscription allows to do and saying things like this.