The Infowars Have Ended
June 7, 2024 8:15 AM Subscribe
On Thursday, conspiracy monger, supplement peddler, defamation artist, and abuser Alex Jones moved to convert his bankruptcy proceedings to Chapter 7, allowing for the liquidation of his personal assets to pay off the over $1.5B he owes in legal decisions to the families of Sandy Hook victims he defamed and whose lives he upended - including his personal holdings in his conspiracy theory empire, InfoWars.
In doing so, Jones' lawyers noted that there was “no reasonable prospect for a successful reorganization” under Chapter 11,and that proceeding would only serve to incur further costs for Jones. A week prior, Jones was given the green light to liquidate his $2.8M Texas ranch to pay his various debts.
InfoWars as a whole is owned by the shell company Free Speech Systems, and as such the impact of Jones entering into Chapter 7 on FSS' own bankruptcy is to be seen, especially given that FSS has been under the oversight of an independent restructuring officer, with a hearing next week to determine the company's fate.
Alex Jones' legal travails previously, previously, more previously, even more previously.
In doing so, Jones' lawyers noted that there was “no reasonable prospect for a successful reorganization” under Chapter 11,and that proceeding would only serve to incur further costs for Jones. A week prior, Jones was given the green light to liquidate his $2.8M Texas ranch to pay his various debts.
InfoWars as a whole is owned by the shell company Free Speech Systems, and as such the impact of Jones entering into Chapter 7 on FSS' own bankruptcy is to be seen, especially given that FSS has been under the oversight of an independent restructuring officer, with a hearing next week to determine the company's fate.
Alex Jones' legal travails previously, previously, more previously, even more previously.
At least he didn't weasel out of it all like Trump... but... how much does he have squirreled away in bitcoin, or hidden in shadowy foreign banks, or even buried in the ground as gold bars, that will never be discovered?
posted by CynicalKnight at 8:20 AM on June 7 [7 favorites]
posted by CynicalKnight at 8:20 AM on June 7 [7 favorites]
I hope they put a lien on the van he's living in down by the river.
posted by Catblack at 8:20 AM on June 7 [26 favorites]
posted by Catblack at 8:20 AM on June 7 [26 favorites]
From my understanding, the families have forensic accountants who are hard at work giving Jones a financial colonoscopy.
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:22 AM on June 7 [76 favorites]
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:22 AM on June 7 [76 favorites]
I'm not religious, but it's people like this that make me wish there is indeed a Hell where bad people go to burn for eternity.
posted by milnak at 8:22 AM on June 7 [31 favorites]
posted by milnak at 8:22 AM on June 7 [31 favorites]
My only question here is what the boys from Knowledge Fight are going to get up to once the Alex Jones show is finally gone for good. By the way, if you want to enjoy hearing an absolutely shitfaced alex jones cry and whine and scream on air as he realizes that the rollercoaster is about to finally stop, their June 3rd episode is full of schadenfreude.
posted by dis_integration at 8:29 AM on June 7 [18 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 8:29 AM on June 7 [18 favorites]
I was just about to mention the episode of Knowledge Fight that dropped over the weekend. It's over three hours long and I'm still working my way through it. I don't listen to the show that often, but when I heard about the latest shitfest I had to tune in.
posted by slogger at 8:35 AM on June 7 [3 favorites]
posted by slogger at 8:35 AM on June 7 [3 favorites]
good.
there is such a noxious plethora of evil to choose from these days, but AJ holds a special place in the pantheon for what he did to the Sandy Hook families. pure venality and greed. I hope he lives a long painful, empty, penurious life.
posted by supermedusa at 8:40 AM on June 7 [16 favorites]
there is such a noxious plethora of evil to choose from these days, but AJ holds a special place in the pantheon for what he did to the Sandy Hook families. pure venality and greed. I hope he lives a long painful, empty, penurious life.
posted by supermedusa at 8:40 AM on June 7 [16 favorites]
On the one hand, I want the Sandy Hook families to get everything possible. On the other hand, I don't want Alex Jones to sell off his intellectual property to someone who will be able to further exploit it. Better to let it die.
posted by rikschell at 8:53 AM on June 7 [5 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 8:53 AM on June 7 [5 favorites]
Jones isn’t going away. Unfortunately, his major asset is his on-air personality, and the bankruptcy can’t take that away from him. He’ll just pop up with a new show under a new company, indistinguishable from the old one.
Meanwhile he’s claiming living expenses of $60k/month, making a mockery about f the concept of bankruptcy.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:53 AM on June 7 [9 favorites]
Meanwhile he’s claiming living expenses of $60k/month, making a mockery about f the concept of bankruptcy.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:53 AM on June 7 [9 favorites]
While this is obviously satisfying, I do want to point out that the first time I saw a link to InfoWars it was in a Metafilter comment. It was on a topic where Jones's conspiracy and anger-fueled agenda had wrapped all the way 'round to the left of the political spectrum. So I am always on the lookout for media sources that tell me what I want to hear and try to rile me up.
posted by wnissen at 9:06 AM on June 7 [11 favorites]
posted by wnissen at 9:06 AM on June 7 [11 favorites]
if you want to enjoy hearing an absolutely shitfaced alex jones cry and whine and scream on air as he realizes that the rollercoaster is about to finally stop, their June 3rd episode is full of schadenfreude.
I would rather not listen to Alex Jones under any circumstances. Well, except for a whole hearted apology and a life spent working against orgs like Infowars.
posted by NoMich at 9:21 AM on June 7 [10 favorites]
I would rather not listen to Alex Jones under any circumstances. Well, except for a whole hearted apology and a life spent working against orgs like Infowars.
posted by NoMich at 9:21 AM on June 7 [10 favorites]
Who wants some gummy worms?
It's gonna be a dreamy creamy summer.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:27 AM on June 7 [3 favorites]
It's gonna be a dreamy creamy summer.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:27 AM on June 7 [3 favorites]
The Knowledge Fight episode for today is a live show discussing an old episode, and my God am I excited for whatever episode drops next.
posted by Shepherd at 9:30 AM on June 7
posted by Shepherd at 9:30 AM on June 7
While this is obviously satisfying, I do want to point out that the first time I saw a link to InfoWars it was in a Metafilter comment. It was on a topic where Jones's conspiracy and anger-fueled agenda had wrapped all the way 'round to the left of the political spectrum.
Similarly, the first time I heard his voice is when he appeared in a segment of Richard Linklater's Waking Life in 2001. The tone of his rhetoric is pretty much the same, the only differences were the targets of his anger and the scope of his audience. Not the easiest rewatch...
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:42 AM on June 7 [8 favorites]
Similarly, the first time I heard his voice is when he appeared in a segment of Richard Linklater's Waking Life in 2001. The tone of his rhetoric is pretty much the same, the only differences were the targets of his anger and the scope of his audience. Not the easiest rewatch...
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:42 AM on June 7 [8 favorites]
It was on a topic where Jones's conspiracy and anger-fueled agenda had wrapped all the way 'round to the left of the political spectrum. So I am always on the lookout for media sources that tell me what I want to hear and try to rile me up.
This is one of the things the Knowledge Fight guys were bringing up when Jones was talking about I/P conflict. They had to stress repeatedly that even though Jones was highly critical of Israel's actions it didn't mean he was on your side. There would be snippets that you had to listen for to realize that his reasoning was that further violence would result in Palestinian immigration to the U.S. So, as usual, racism.
posted by charred husk at 9:43 AM on June 7 [14 favorites]
This is one of the things the Knowledge Fight guys were bringing up when Jones was talking about I/P conflict. They had to stress repeatedly that even though Jones was highly critical of Israel's actions it didn't mean he was on your side. There would be snippets that you had to listen for to realize that his reasoning was that further violence would result in Palestinian immigration to the U.S. So, as usual, racism.
posted by charred husk at 9:43 AM on June 7 [14 favorites]
To paraphrase an old Onion joke: "Info Wins Info Wars"
posted by canisbonusest at 9:48 AM on June 7 [12 favorites]
posted by canisbonusest at 9:48 AM on June 7 [12 favorites]
vindication for gay frogs
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 10:04 AM on June 7 [12 favorites]
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 10:04 AM on June 7 [12 favorites]
May he have a long and excruciating life of absolute powerlessness and irrelevance.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 10:05 AM on June 7 [18 favorites]
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 10:05 AM on June 7 [18 favorites]
ones isn’t going away. Unfortunately, his major asset is his on-air personality, and the bankruptcy can’t take that away from him. He’ll just pop up with a new show under a new company, indistinguishable from the old one.
Weeeeell… I’m not sure he’ll be able to launch his own show without it being considered a continuation of InfoWars/FSS. In the last year or so, he’s soft launched a couple of projects that ran briefly, I believe because the courts aren’t stupid.
He could probably go to work for Rumble, Blaze Media, or the like, except for the facts that he’s unreliable, unable to answer to authority, and likely to get any publisher sued eventually. Plus, there’s no loyalty among far-right grifters. They all smile, but none of theme seem to like each other.
We haven’t heard the last of him, but maintaining a platform might be more work than he can manage.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:06 AM on June 7 [10 favorites]
Weeeeell… I’m not sure he’ll be able to launch his own show without it being considered a continuation of InfoWars/FSS. In the last year or so, he’s soft launched a couple of projects that ran briefly, I believe because the courts aren’t stupid.
He could probably go to work for Rumble, Blaze Media, or the like, except for the facts that he’s unreliable, unable to answer to authority, and likely to get any publisher sued eventually. Plus, there’s no loyalty among far-right grifters. They all smile, but none of theme seem to like each other.
We haven’t heard the last of him, but maintaining a platform might be more work than he can manage.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:06 AM on June 7 [10 favorites]
living expenses of $60k/month
Hey, those Super Male Vitality supplements don't come cheap!
posted by mittens at 10:06 AM on June 7 [5 favorites]
Hey, those Super Male Vitality supplements don't come cheap!
posted by mittens at 10:06 AM on June 7 [5 favorites]
Good.
posted by freakazoid at 10:09 AM on June 7
posted by freakazoid at 10:09 AM on June 7
My only question here is what the boys from Knowledge Fight are going to get up to once the Alex Jones show is finally gone for good.
I mean, Stew Peters is down the hall and three doors to the right, as one suggestion.
posted by delfin at 10:12 AM on June 7 [1 favorite]
I mean, Stew Peters is down the hall and three doors to the right, as one suggestion.
posted by delfin at 10:12 AM on June 7 [1 favorite]
I guess we picked the wrong day to have an alcohol free thread
On second thought, a MOCKtail is what Mr. Jones truly deserves. Mock mock mock
posted by chavenet at 10:18 AM on June 7 [8 favorites]
On second thought, a MOCKtail is what Mr. Jones truly deserves. Mock mock mock
posted by chavenet at 10:18 AM on June 7 [8 favorites]
Alex Jones was annoying the shit out of me when I was still living in Houston in the mid 90s. He was the kind of guy I'd point to when people told me how liberal Austin was (not exactly then, and definitely not exactly now; I love Austin but it has its flaws!) I've been waiting a looooooong time to see him get his comeuppance and I greet it with a level of glee that's probably bad for my spiritual health.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:25 AM on June 7 [12 favorites]
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:25 AM on June 7 [12 favorites]
I guess we picked the wrong day to have an alcohol free thread
I mean, Alex Jones’ behavior last weekend is an excellent advertisement for staying sober. The guy was incoherent, slurring, embarrassingly emotional, and he may have thrown up on set.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:31 AM on June 7 [8 favorites]
I mean, Alex Jones’ behavior last weekend is an excellent advertisement for staying sober. The guy was incoherent, slurring, embarrassingly emotional, and he may have thrown up on set.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:31 AM on June 7 [8 favorites]
> But he's been responsible for so many bangers !
The thing about Alex Jones (and something that distinguishes him from most of the other heir apparents right wing talk show freaks out there today) is that, despite being a genuinely wicked person who has done a great deal of damage to the world, and to many individuals, he was, in his heyday, an incredibly talented broadcaster and compelling entertainer. Does he lie, constantly, with no concern for even keeping the lies straight, and is he a white supremacist, racist, antisemite ideologue who would, if he could, have me and people like me put to death, yes. But he's also god damn good at yammering away for hours. Or he was, at his peak. If you doubt me, check out his cameo in Linklater's Waking Life. Anyway, this is kind of like saying you gotta hand it to Isis, but yes, you gotta hand it to Alex Jones for being good at hosting a radio show. But good riddance all the same.
posted by dis_integration at 11:04 AM on June 7 [1 favorite]
The thing about Alex Jones (and something that distinguishes him from most of the other heir apparents right wing talk show freaks out there today) is that, despite being a genuinely wicked person who has done a great deal of damage to the world, and to many individuals, he was, in his heyday, an incredibly talented broadcaster and compelling entertainer. Does he lie, constantly, with no concern for even keeping the lies straight, and is he a white supremacist, racist, antisemite ideologue who would, if he could, have me and people like me put to death, yes. But he's also god damn good at yammering away for hours. Or he was, at his peak. If you doubt me, check out his cameo in Linklater's Waking Life. Anyway, this is kind of like saying you gotta hand it to Isis, but yes, you gotta hand it to Alex Jones for being good at hosting a radio show. But good riddance all the same.
posted by dis_integration at 11:04 AM on June 7 [1 favorite]
Splendid.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 11:16 AM on June 7 [1 favorite]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 11:16 AM on June 7 [1 favorite]
Anyway, this is kind of like saying you gotta hand it to Isis, but yes, you gotta hand it to Alex Jones for being good at hosting a radio show.
And as dril famously noted, no, you don't.
You don't have to give credit to someone putting their talent to use to foment hate, abuse, and harm. In fact, you shouldn't.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:16 AM on June 7 [22 favorites]
And as dril famously noted, no, you don't.
You don't have to give credit to someone putting their talent to use to foment hate, abuse, and harm. In fact, you shouldn't.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:16 AM on June 7 [22 favorites]
Some years ago I worked for the Seattle Housing Department and traveled via bus and light rail to all their buildings. One time I took the latter to the 92nd South & Highway 99 station to walk down S Henderson to get to Barton Place on Rainier Ave S. I crossed paths with Alex Jones as I left that station and recognized his face as I passed him. It took me a couple of blocks to remember who he was. Face punching averted.
I always wondered thereafter who he knew and what he was doing down there that day...
posted by y2karl at 11:32 AM on June 7 [3 favorites]
I always wondered thereafter who he knew and what he was doing down there that day...
posted by y2karl at 11:32 AM on June 7 [3 favorites]
Did Taco Bell win them too?
Those were the Franchise Wars, and Pizza Hut won them in some countries.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:44 AM on June 7 [8 favorites]
Those were the Franchise Wars, and Pizza Hut won them in some countries.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:44 AM on June 7 [8 favorites]
I dunno, I think it’s worth recognizing talent and technique in the evil. One of the things I like about Knowledge Fight is the analysis of what he’s doing, how one fabrication slides into another, how old scripts return with slightly different characters, how he pitches transparently wrong ideas in such a way as to get people of a certain ideology to set aside reason again and swallow another lump of garbage, preferably with supplements.
The problem is that, once you’ve recognized his talent and technique, there’s not much you can do with it. It’s not like his approached can be turned around and used for good, somehow deluding people into better behavior. So, bravo, Mr. Jones, your one of the great, awful, corrupting grifters.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:59 AM on June 7 [3 favorites]
The problem is that, once you’ve recognized his talent and technique, there’s not much you can do with it. It’s not like his approached can be turned around and used for good, somehow deluding people into better behavior. So, bravo, Mr. Jones, your one of the great, awful, corrupting grifters.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:59 AM on June 7 [3 favorites]
Yeah, that is kind of the issue with attempts by liberals & the left to replicate conservative successes. The talent only gets you so far - you have to be willing to be a lying liar who manipulates truth and emotions to get the rest of the way.
Jones CAN be a really entertaining and funny guy (intentionally, even.) His "Stone buildings burn right to the ground, Ed," comment when talking the flat earther on Friday was perfectly timed and delivered to be hilarious. But lots of better people are that funny and talented, too. They just aren't willing to do as much evil to get what they want.
posted by charred husk at 12:06 PM on June 7 [4 favorites]
Jones CAN be a really entertaining and funny guy (intentionally, even.) His "Stone buildings burn right to the ground, Ed," comment when talking the flat earther on Friday was perfectly timed and delivered to be hilarious. But lots of better people are that funny and talented, too. They just aren't willing to do as much evil to get what they want.
posted by charred husk at 12:06 PM on June 7 [4 favorites]
I'm glad to hear he has to sell his companies. I wish the worst for him, obscurity, irrelevance and then revelation: the awareness that he has hurt a lot of people. I want that knowledge to ride him like he rode lies, doggedly and without remorse.
(I cannot fathom the pain the Sandy Hook families went through - the way he played that was breathtakingly vile.)
posted by From Bklyn at 1:57 PM on June 7 [4 favorites]
(I cannot fathom the pain the Sandy Hook families went through - the way he played that was breathtakingly vile.)
posted by From Bklyn at 1:57 PM on June 7 [4 favorites]
He’s going to end up on Steven Crowder’s show. Alex Jones is unlikely to ever go away, but I do hope Mark Bankston gets his desk.
posted by hototogisu at 2:48 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
posted by hototogisu at 2:48 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
Also, “they burn to the fucking ground, Eddie” would make a perfect phone ringtone.
posted by hototogisu at 2:49 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
posted by hototogisu at 2:49 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
I hope the accountants find every single dime this ghoul has and he spends the rest of his life having to siphon off any income to pay these families.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:30 PM on June 7 [5 favorites]
posted by bluesky43 at 3:30 PM on June 7 [5 favorites]
He's gonna "Find Jesus!" and become the pastor of some horrible mega church, and not only land on his feet but continue in much the same vein.
posted by evilDoug at 5:11 PM on June 7 [2 favorites]
posted by evilDoug at 5:11 PM on June 7 [2 favorites]
I’m not sure it’s possible for Alex to find Jesus any harder than he already has.
posted by hototogisu at 5:12 PM on June 7 [2 favorites]
posted by hototogisu at 5:12 PM on June 7 [2 favorites]
Talk about suppuration of church and state!
posted by evilDoug at 5:13 PM on June 7 [3 favorites]
posted by evilDoug at 5:13 PM on June 7 [3 favorites]
It's time to pray...
That Alex is not able to escape this simply by redirecting all his business to his father's company that they clearly set up in anticipation of this day. And since we're already praying, let's also ask that Steve Bannon and that former reality star turned convicted felon, whatever his name is end up jail at least through the duration of election. And since we're doing that, let's hope Tesla doesn't give Elon that 55 billion or whatever.
As for the Knowledge Fight, they'll find a way to go on. There is a back catalogue to go through. There are other adjacent things to cover. Tucker. The Stone Zone. Dan seemed very excited to watch that "documentary" that I think is about the Tartarian Empire (we are living on the remnants of a great lost society, down to the buildings that have been "recycled").
posted by LostInUbe at 6:00 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
That Alex is not able to escape this simply by redirecting all his business to his father's company that they clearly set up in anticipation of this day. And since we're already praying, let's also ask that Steve Bannon and that former reality star turned convicted felon, whatever his name is end up jail at least through the duration of election. And since we're doing that, let's hope Tesla doesn't give Elon that 55 billion or whatever.
As for the Knowledge Fight, they'll find a way to go on. There is a back catalogue to go through. There are other adjacent things to cover. Tucker. The Stone Zone. Dan seemed very excited to watch that "documentary" that I think is about the Tartarian Empire (we are living on the remnants of a great lost society, down to the buildings that have been "recycled").
posted by LostInUbe at 6:00 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
I’m not sure it’s possible for Alex to find Jesus any harder than he already has.
Anywhere a chicken fried steak is, there am I.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:18 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
Anywhere a chicken fried steak is, there am I.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:18 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
The courts are clearly aware of the senior Mr. Jones' companies, since one of the things AJ was whining about this past weekend was that the manager imposed by the courts wasn't letting him pay his dad millions of dollars of "advertising revenue" because his dad's company was the only advertiser left.
posted by Scattercat at 6:54 PM on June 7 [2 favorites]
posted by Scattercat at 6:54 PM on June 7 [2 favorites]
I’m not sure it’s possible for Alex to find Jesus any harder than he already has.
Is this a double entendre?
Are you invoking rule 34 ?
A sleaze on Jeez Pron?
Am I enjoying myself too much?
That's unpossible!
posted by evilDoug at 7:40 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
Is this a double entendre?
Are you invoking rule 34 ?
A sleaze on Jeez Pron?
Am I enjoying myself too much?
That's unpossible!
posted by evilDoug at 7:40 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]
lol. lmao.
posted by signsofrain at 8:58 PM on June 7
posted by signsofrain at 8:58 PM on June 7
This is a solemn but a glorious day, I only wish Bill Hicks had lived to witness it
posted by hortense at 1:08 PM on June 8
posted by hortense at 1:08 PM on June 8
I kind of wish that Bill Cooper had lived to witness it. Cooper was... a problematic guy, to say the least... but Jones has been feasting on Cooper's corpse for decades.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:11 PM on June 8 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:11 PM on June 8 [2 favorites]
This is your regular reminder that bad actors like Jones worked so hard to portray Sandy Hook as a hoax because the obvious response to such a horror is to implement stricter gun control, and that they could not countenance. He and others like him lied in the service of their political agenda, and those lies led to the deaths of others in similar massacres.
The same is true any time someone says it's "too early to politicize" the latest mass shooting. "Politicize" means "do anything about it."
For inflicting additional suffering on innocent families in the service of his political agenda, Jones deserves every consequence the legal system can visit upon him, and no sympathy.
posted by Gelatin at 8:11 AM on June 10 [6 favorites]
The same is true any time someone says it's "too early to politicize" the latest mass shooting. "Politicize" means "do anything about it."
For inflicting additional suffering on innocent families in the service of his political agenda, Jones deserves every consequence the legal system can visit upon him, and no sympathy.
posted by Gelatin at 8:11 AM on June 10 [6 favorites]
Every time someone claims that a gun massacre is a "false flag" or uses "crisis actors" or the like, they are admitting that the obvious response to these massacres is gun control, and since they don't have a good counterargument, they choose to lie about the events instead.
posted by Gelatin at 8:29 AM on June 10 [7 favorites]
posted by Gelatin at 8:29 AM on June 10 [7 favorites]
And the judge has agreed to the liquidation of Jones' assets.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:57 PM on June 14 [5 favorites]
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:57 PM on June 14 [5 favorites]
Legal Eagle breaks down all that's happening to Jones.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:26 PM on June 21 [3 favorites]
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:26 PM on June 21 [3 favorites]
And the bankruptcy trustee over Free Speech Systems announces plans to liquidate Free Speech Systems, in response to the Connecticut plaintiffs beginning collection proceedings.
posted by NoxAeternum at 5:47 PM on June 24 [2 favorites]
posted by NoxAeternum at 5:47 PM on June 24 [2 favorites]
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posted by Suedeltica at 8:19 AM on June 7 [16 favorites]