The Onion buys Infowars • Hacker News Board

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#381

Post by zemo » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:13 PM UTC

quantadev wrote: post #358

[flagged]

The Onion reporting that bigfoot was spotted riding a log flume at an amusement park is, you know, an obviously untrue statement that readers are aware is untrue, told for amusement. Alex Jones saying that Sandy Hook parents are faking it and their children were never killed is ... it's different, man. It's a different thing.

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#382

Post by leptons » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:14 PM UTC

drawkward wrote: post #334

leptons wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The next 4 years are going to be an absolute farce in the US.

Maybe?

[flagged]

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#383

Post by cogman10 » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:14 PM UTC

seanp2k2 wrote: post #343

frankhorrigan wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Infowars is a supplements business. It’s grifts all the way down.

Anyone ever wonder why there are very few far-right comedians?

It's because they all identify as comedians.

(Yes, this is the one rightwing joke).

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#384

Post by from-nibly » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:14 PM UTC

> “By divesting Jones of Infowars’ assets, the families and the team at The Onion have done a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones’s ability to do more harm,”

How hard is it really to start a new podcast?

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#385

Post by wg0 » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:14 PM UTC

That's the best practical joke I have ever heard!

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#386

Post by autophagian » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:14 PM UTC

quantadev wrote: post #358

[flagged]

Agreed. Plus, these days, i can’t get any work done without my Brain Force Plus

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#387

Post by hyperpape » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:15 PM UTC

quantadev wrote: post #358

[flagged]

> I always thought "The Onion" was just like Alex Jones in that they call out all the insanity being done by a certain "ilk" of our society which has indeed gone insane thru over-consumption and over-believing in the lies the MSM tells daily, in their failed attempts to slander the political party they've decided to side against. -- You

> Instead, the publication portrayed Biden as a blue-collar "average Joe", an affable "goofy uncle", a muscle car driver, an avid fan of 1980s hair metal, a raucous party animal, a shameless womanizer, a recidivist petty criminal, and a drug-dealing outlaw. --https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden_(The_Onion)

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#388

Post by rsynnott » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:15 PM UTC

dogleash wrote: post #53

ascendantlogic wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the Onion is as good as it ever was. The issue now is that the real news is so wild and unhinged the Onion doesn't have that segment cornered anymore.

Oh come on now. The world wasn't just sent to live with it's auntie and uncle in Bel-Air. The distressed sullen worldview might be new to you, but people certainly had it back when I found the Onion regularly quite enjoyable too.

In 2004, George W Bush was re-elected. At that time, a plausible Onion story might have been that George W Bush was going to appoint a vaccine denier HHS and someone who was investigated by the DOJ as AG, and that would have been, like, mildly funny (which was always the Onion's thing, really; it was almost never _great_), because haha, the president popularly considered to be a bit incompetent is appointing obviously unsuitable people, how amusing, but also, well, a bit of fun, not real. (Actually, if anything I think this might have strayed a bit too far into absurdity for the Onion's liking, particularly Gaetz.)

Fast-forward to 2024, and, well... It just doesn't work as well anymore. Like, imagine an Onion story about Trump's appointments. What could it possibly say that would be stranger than the reality?

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#389

Post by akaru » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:15 PM UTC

drawkward wrote: post #347

lowbloodsugar wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Flagging you from the left here. Harris outperformed Biden among only two demo groups[1]: -College educated whites -People with income > $100,000 Please, consider the possibility, that the Dems are now the party of wealthy elites, and that the diverse coalition making is happening on the R side of the aisle. [1] Edit for sourcing: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/opinion/obama-ezra-klein-...

Right, because the definition of “wealthy elite” is making $100k/yr.

Re: The Onion buys Infowars

#390

Post by cogman10 » Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 5:15 PM UTC

bbor wrote: post #218

chvid wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess this is about the domain name infowars.com which belongs to a bankrupt company. Alex Jones is such a big name and has other channels (x.com, Joe Rogan etc.) that he can easily build a similar site/business under a new domain name. Perhaps The Onion should ask - who gets most promotion of this?

Hmm NBC seems to imply that they purchased "Free Speech Systems", which is the parent company for the entire operation. Of course, who knows what they'll actually get other than the domain and copyrights -- Jones will just move all the physical assets into a storage unit/another office and dare them to complain, Guliani-style. Also, who knows if any of these stands for long, anyway; the cases are in state court (Conn…

They are almost certainly going to sue for illegal enrichment. I'm certain that Jones will try and move assets and I'm sure he'll get caught doing that.

It means Onion sues Jones will likely be in the headlines a fair bit.