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A company tied to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones filed Monday to dispute the sale of the Infowars website to the parody site The Onion, calling it improper and unfair. In the morning, First United American Cos., a limited liability company that runs Jones’ online supplements store, filed an emergency motion to disqualify the winning bid of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron,’ to purchase the Infowars media empire and other assets. The company running Jones’ online store had placed a competing bid against The Onion to purchase the estate. Infowars was briefly shut down after the sale was announced, NBC News reported, but it has resumed operating since. The proceeds from the sale of Infowars and Jones’ other assets will go toward his estate creditors, including the families of Sandy Hook victims.

Persons: Alex Jones, Cos, Jones, ’, Sandy Hook, FUAC, ”, “, Infowars, ” Jones, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Ben Collins —, ” Collins, InfoWars Organizations: Global, NBC News, X Corp Locations: United, Connecticut, Infowars

Attorneys for X Corp., the firm established by Elon Musk to take over Twitter, filed a notice of appearance on Thursday in the bankruptcy case of Alex Jones and his Infowars platform. The new owners of satirical news site The Onion had been declared the successful bidders for Jones’ controversial platform, alongside families of the Sandy Hook massacre victims. Musk has allowed Infowars to broadcast on X while Infowars’ fate is in limbo. Jones has used Infowars as a platform to promote conspiracy theories, far-right ideologies and misinformation. Jones’ bankruptcy stems from his obligation to pay $1.5 billion in damages to families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, who filed defamation lawsuits over his false claims that the massacre was a hoax.

Persons: Elon Musk, Alex Jones, Jones, Sandy, ”, Christopher M, Lopez, Mother Jones, Donald Trump, Musk, Ben Collins —, ” Collins, Infowars Organizations: X Corp, Elon, Twitter, Bloomberg, Sandy Hook Elementary, NBC Locations: Texas

☆ Behind The Onion's bid for Alex Jones's Infowars — which is now on hold as a judge reviews it
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementThe Onion's bid for Infowars came together with help from Sandy Hook families. On the surface, The Onion's announcement that it had purchased Alex Jones's Infowars at auction on Thursday may have sounded like a bizarre joke. But behind the scenes, the bid came together through strategic coordination — with the support of Sandy Hook families and a nonprofit that is backed by Michael Bloomberg. "The sale is currently underway, pending standard processes," Collins told Variety Friday in a statement. Advertisement"They've long loved The Onion," Collins told Yahoo, nodding to a headline the outlet publishes verbatim every time there's a mass shooting.

Persons: Infowars, Sandy Hook, Ben Collins, Alex Jones's Infowars, Michael Bloomberg, Collins, Alex Jones, Jones — who'd, Christopher Lopez, weren't, Lopez, Variety, John Feinblatt, who've, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Elon Musk's X, Jones Organizations: Yahoo, NBC, First United, Companies, Southern, of Texas's, Bloomberg News, Safety, ABC News, Bloomberg, Business, Variety, Free Speech Systems Locations: Texas

The Onion, the satirical news company that repeatedly spoofed conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has won the bankruptcy auction for control over his media empire — most notably Infowars, the far-right, conspiracy-minded website that served as Jones’ primary online platform. The Onion plans to shutter Jones’ Infowars and rebuild the website featuring well-known internet humor writers and content creators, according to a person with knowledge of the sale. About an hour and a half after the announcement of the sale, Infowars' website was shut down. Details of Wednesday’s auction, including how much was offered for Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, and related assets, were not immediately known. “All you leftists celebrating the end of Alex Jones and Infowars, you’re fools,” he said.

Persons: Alex Jones, Jones, “, ” Jones, Infowars, Sandy, Sandy Hook, Chris Mattei, divesting Jones, John Feinblatt, Ben Collins, Collins, Christopher Murray, ”, Jeff Lawson, InfoWars Organizations: U.S, First United American Companies, Free Speech Systems, Sandy Hook Elementary, Gun Safety, NBC News, Onion News, ThreeSixty, Bankruptcy, Southern, Southern District of, Global, Onion staff, O Media, Speech Systems Locations: Connecticut, Texas, Winnebago, Austin , Texas, Southern District, Southern District of Texas, Sandy Hook, Newtown , Connecticut, “

☆ The Onion has won the bid for Infowars’ assets
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Satirical news site The Onion won the auction to acquire conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars, which was sold off as part of a defamation settlement after he falsely called the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax. The Onion’s bid was backed by the families of eight victims of school shooting and one first responder. Jones was previously ordered to pay $1.5 billion to families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims. Jones had used Infowars to spread some of the most disturbing and disgusting lies and conspiracy theories into the public discourse. Though Collins declined to detail the bid amount, he said it was the highest and that the funding came from The Onion itself.

Persons: Alex Jones ’, Jones, Sandy Hook, he’s, motorhome, ”, Ben Collins, ” Alex Jones, David J, Phillip, Collins, “ We’re, Chris Mattei, Alex Jones, Robbie Parker, Emilie, Infowars, Jones ’, Oliver Darcy Organizations: CNN, Elementary, Gun Safety Locations: Sandy, Houston, harm’s

☆ The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars — and that's not a joke
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Onion, the satirical news site, bought Alex Jones' Infowars at an auction. Jones was found liable for defaming the Sandy Hook families and ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion. Under The Onion, the revamped Infowars is set to feature ads from Everytown for Gun Safety. AdvertisementThe conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars has a new home — and it's not the one he wanted. AdvertisementThe Associated Press reported that The Onion would acquire Infowars' social-media accounts, its trademarks, its video archive, and its studio in Austin.

Persons: Alex Jones, Jones, Sandy Hook, —, it's, Infowars, weren't, John Feinblatt, Ben Collins, Collins Organizations: Gun Safety, Service, Safety, Sandy Hook Elementary, Associated Press, New York Times Locations: Austin

☆ Infowars attracts ‘seven-figure’ auction bids that will decide fate of Alex Jones’ empire
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —On Wednesday morning, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ notorious Infowars media empire will go up for auction in a court-mandated sale, and at least one bid is in the “seven-figure” range, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Jones was found guilty of defamation by juries in Texas and Connecticut for using his Infowars megaphone to falsely claim the massacre was a hoax. But if “bad guys” buy Infowars, as Jones put it Monday, he’ll “keep broadcasting until they show up” after the Wednesday auction and shut down the fringe outlet. The Onion CEO Ben Collins was previously a journalist at NBC where he extensively covered disinformation and conspiracy theorists, including Jones and Infowars. The Barbed Wire, a progressive Texas-based outlet, said it had planned to bid in the Infowars auction but ultimately decided against it.

Persons: Alex Jones ’, ”, Jones, Sandy, “, ” Jones, Infowars, Roger Stone, Donald Trump, Stone, he’ll, AJNLive, they’re, imploring, Sandy Hook, Ben Collins, Collins, Christopher Mattei Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, Elementary, AP, NBC, Elon, ” Representatives, Media Locations: New York, Texas, Connecticut, Infowars

☆ Is digital fatigue leading to the revival of print?
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIs digital fatigue leading to the revival of print? The Onion's CEO Ben Collins and owner Jeff Lawson, join 'Power Lunch' to discuss how digital fatigue has led consumers back to print.

Persons: Ben Collins, Jeff Lawson

☆ Boy dies as bounce house goes airborne and crashes onto Maryland baseball field
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-04 | by ( Rudy Chinchilla | Rudy Chinchilla Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A 5-year-old boy died when a bounce house full of children went airborne and crashed down onto a baseball field in Maryland on Friday, authorities said. The 5-year-old, from the town of La Plata, was airlifted by a state police helicopter to a children’s hospital and later pronounced dead, the county said. The gust of wind carried it over a wall and onto the field, the station reported. Witnesses said the bounce house had been secured by stakes hammered into the ground, according to the station. La Plata is a town of about 10,000, around 70 miles southwest of Baltimore.

Persons: Charles County, ”, Reuben Collins, Witnesses, Courtney Knichel Organizations: Southern Maryland Blue, Maryland State Police, Furniture, NBC Washington, Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Locations: Maryland, Waldorf, La Plata, ” Charles County, Southern, Baltimore

☆ Marc Andreessen is getting raked over the coals for calling social responsibility the 'enemy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

VC Marc Andreessen wrote a lengthy missive this week, titled "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto." AdvertisementAdvertisementIt wouldn't be a Marc Andreessen essay if the internet didn't lose its mind over it. Rather, technology, he wrote, can solve for "any material problem" under the sun and herald a new era of "abundance for everyone." The backlash to Andreessen's essay was swift. He runs one of the biggest venture capital firms by assets and perceived importance.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, —, Kara Swisher, Andreessen, Ben Collins, Andreessen's missive, Dorothea Baur, Cameron Moll, he's, Gary Marcus, Marcus, what's, Aravind Srinivas, A16z, Collins, Andreessen Horowitz, Del, Johnson Organizations: Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook, Backstage Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Venture Locations: Silicon Valley, Del Johnson, Silicon

☆ I was an English major in college and now I lead a data analytics team. Here are 3 ways I became a 'numbers person.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Navah Maynard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AVERAGE - Calculates the average of a set of values that are manually input or from a cell range. MEDIAN - Calculates the median of a set of values that are manually input or from a cell range. SUMIF - Calculates the total value from a cell range only including the values that match the conditional logic that you set. COUNTIF - Counts the numbers of cells from a cell range only if it meets the criteria that you set. FILTER - Returns only the rows of a cell range that meets the criteria that you set.

Persons: —, I've, Ben Collins, You've, It's Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Google Locations: English

☆ Twitter removes autocomplete function after it suggested shocking videos of cats and dogs being tortured and mass shootings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter has removed the autocomplete function in its search bar following complaints. Users highlighted that it had started to suggest graphic videos of animal abuse and mass shootings. An expert told the BBC that Twitter's content moderation issues come down to job cuts. Twitter has removed the autocomplete function in its search bar after users flagged that it had started to recommend horrifying videos of animal abuse and mass shootings. Amarasingam suggested that the company no longer had the required staff to remove content or warn users about graphic content.

☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene compared New York to Gotham City and said it 'smells bad' after she had to wade through a crowd of hecklers in Manhattan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene bashed New York City on Wednesday, calling it 'filthy' and 'terrible.' The Georgia lawmaker was heckled on Tuesday at a pro-Trump rally in Manhattan. Greene was in New York to hold a mini protest for Trump, who was arrested and charged in court on Tuesday afternoon. Before the protest, New York Mayor Eric Adams singled out Greene by name when he called for calm in the run-up to Trump's surrender in New York. "People like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is known to spread misinformation and hate speech.

☆ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrates Marjorie Taylor Greene getting heckled in New York City at a pro-Trump rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was in Manhattan to speak at a pro-Donald Trump rally. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrated a report that the Georgia congresswoman was heckled. "Welcome to NYC!," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted with a Statue of Liberty emoji. The New York Times reported that Greene delivered brief remarks calling Democrats "communists" and rattling off GOP policy positions. "Do your freakin' job, Marjorie Taylor Greene," he said in a video he tweeted.

REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File PhotoMarch 6 (Reuters) - American carmakers will lean on technology to keep the horsepower wars going among their electric muscle cars, a tectonic shift from the big, rumbling motors of the past. GM and Dodge have both issued timelines to stop selling gas-powered muscle cars and replace them with electric variants that will wear the same badges. Dodge's Charger and Challenger muscle cars will not be made next year, while Chevrolet has laid out plans for an electric Corvette. Brands such as Polestar and Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) have announced optional power upgrades to their sedans that improve acceleration and total horsepower via paid OTA (over-the-air) software updates. Dodge has said it will transition its muscle cars to an electric platform, and is working to differentiate those models.

☆ Twitter suspends multiple journalists who have been covering, criticizing Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter suspended several journalists' accounts on Thursday. Many of the affected writers had been covering or criticizing Elon Musk in the preceding days. But Rupar told Insider that he didn't believe he had tweeted or even retweeted anything about the ongoing private jet saga. Nearly all of them had been reporting on Twitter, covering Musk, or writing critically about the billionaire in the days leading up to their suspension. The flight data Musk is trying to keep off Twitter is available online to anyone and relatively easy to track.

☆ Twitter is now blocking tweets that include links to Mastodon, its competitor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter appears to be banning the posting of links to its competitor, Mastodon. Insider's attempt to publish tweets containing Mastodon links were met with an error message. On Thursday evening, Insider attempted to publish ten tweets from three separate Twitter accounts, all containing links to various Mastodon user profiles. Other Twitter users also noticed on Thursday evening that they were unable to post links to Mastodon, a platform often touted as an alternative to Twitter. Also on Thursday, Twitter suspended the official Mastodon Twitter account.

Twitter’s chief information security officer and chief compliance officer resigned late Wednesday night as the company started implementing changes that would allow users to more easily impersonate major brands and government officials. The departures came just hours before the company’s new CEO, Elon Musk, sent his first email to Twitter employees, titled “difficult times ahead,” and implementing a mandatory return-to-work policy. Lea Kissner, the chief information security officer, confirmed they had left in a Twitter post Thursday morning. Chief Compliance Officer Marianne Fogarty has also left the company, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked to remain nameless because they were not authorized to speak publicly. A spokesperson for the Federal Trade Commission said in an emailed statement that it is keeping watch on the situation.

☆ Days before the midterms, Twitter lays off employees who fight misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Ben Collins | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Brandy-Zadrozny-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Musk has said the company won’t allow anyone back on Twitter who was previously banned for at least a few more weeks. One current and two former employees were also concerned about a planned product that would allow Twitter users to buy verification badges. “Twitter isn’t prepared for that scale,” said one Twitter employee who survived Friday’s layoffs and asked to remain nameless because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal company projects. The Twitter employee said that, as of the layoffs, the plan was that “there’s not going to be any verification of ID” to acquire a verification badge. “Now they’ve taken the brakes off the car.”One laid-off Twitter employee told NBC News that “the only saving grace is that he changes his mind on things all the time.”“There were some incredibly talented people who didn’t deserve this,” said a current Twitter employee.

Twitter will lay off staff Friday, the social media giant said in an email obtained by NBC News. In the email, sent Thursday evening, Twitter said it would notify staff by email starting Friday morning about their employment. One Twitter employee said Thursday's email was the first communication staff had received from Twitter since the acquisition Oct. 27. "It's total chaos, house melting down, everyone looking towards this email," the employee told NBC News. "At the end of this nightmare, I better get a cash prize," one Twitter employee told NBC News.

☆ Twitter to begin layoffs Friday, days after Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Rob Wile | Ben Collins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter will be laying off staff Friday, the social media giant said in an email obtained by NBC News. In the email, sent Thursday evening, Twitter said it would be notifying staff by email starting Friday morning about their employment. The cuts come after numerous reports that Musk had planned to slash the company's 7,500-person payroll after he finalized his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter late last week. Meanwhile, Musk has sought to reassure advertisers, saying in a post to Twitter that the platform would not become a "free-for-all hellscape." That was among nearly two dozen tweets Musk posted to the site last weekend, though few offered additional clarity on what the site will look like under his leadership.

☆ Right wing jumps on conspiracy theories and disinformation about Paul Pelosi attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRight wing jumps on conspiracy theories and disinformation about Paul Pelosi attackNBC News' Ben Collins joins Shep Smith to report on the misinformation circulating after a man attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their home in San Francisco.

On Wednesday night, NBC News counted at least nine people watching the ballot drop box in Mesa, a small part of what has become a growing effort by some conservatives to monitor ballot drop boxes in hope of catching election fraud. Some people have stood watch at the drop box while wearing military-style fatigues and masks over their faces, prompting complaints to the Arizona secretary of state. No such drop box fraud has ever been found in significant numbers. On that platform, the former president’s account has shared posts by users advocating for drop box surveillance, including the Mesa drop box. “As for tailgate parties in every drop box: why not?” Keshel said, reiterating that drop box watchers should not participate in any illegal behavior.

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter is telling employees not to believe “rumors” that nearly 75% of them could lose their jobs if Elon Musk eventually takes over the company's owner. “Please know, as we get closer to deal close, there will continue to be tons of public rumors and speculation,” Edgett wrote. There have been no plans for company-wide layoffs since then, he said. A Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the content of the email is accurate. It’s unclear when Musk’s purchase of Twitter might be finalized.

There is no evidence that any school has deployed litter boxes for students to use because they identify as cats. The rumor of litter boxes in schools appears to have begun among parents on social media, and one of the first schools to confront the falsehood was in Canada last fall. Catalina Lauf, a Republican congressional nominee in Illinois, tweeted this month that schoolchildren were using litter boxes in her state. Some say litter boxes are located in “transgender bathrooms” in schools. Meanwhile on TikTok, one video claiming “kids are now requesting litter boxes at school” collected 3 million views on the platform.

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