What can we expect from Tim Heidecker’s InfoWars?
In 2024, The Onion purchased Infowars, the conspiracy website born of the craven lunatic/Sandy Hook shooting denier Alex Jones.
The site best known for dragging conspiracy theories into mainstream political discourse was put on the market after its architect filed for bankruptcy in 2022. And to make a strange story short, America’s finest satirical newspaper swooped in shortly after, sensing a comedic opportunity.
Last week, this mad, mad world got a little madder when Tim Heidecker—the alt comedian behind Tim and Eric, this podcast, this rock band, and this long-running movie show spoof—was appointed creative director of the freshly rebranded InfoWars. And even in a week when shots were almost fired at the White House Correspondents Dinner and a major publisher moved to unionize, this merger made a splash in media world.
Yesterday, Heidecker, who will receive full access to the InfoWars brand, studio, domain names, and archive, told TIME a little about his plans for the great reclamation.
According to Heidecker, the first phase of the new InfoWars will replicate some classic Onion-style parody, in which the absurder aspects of “right-wing media culture” will be lampooned. But the project is not conceived as purely political satire.
Rather than focusing on the conspiracy theories Jones espoused, the new InfoWars will build its comedic base off a spoof of the old site’s predatory snake oil rackets. In other words, Heidecker plans to hawk supplements like these.
Proceeds from this “merch” will serve as reparations, going to to benefit the Sandy Hook families Jones and his followers wronged. The other item for sale is print media. The new site aims to drive up subscriptions to The Onion.
“That’s how we’re trying to maximize this,” Heidecker told Time. “This experience right now, which will go on to make this a profitable enterprise and provide nice, healthy budgets for young creators to make interesting things for the world.”
Once the lampooning has run its course, the plan is to turn InfoWars redux “into a destination for good comedy.” A new comedy streaming site is in the offing. Which is great news, given the landscape.
Heidecker’s project is rare—and fiercely beloved by, let’s face it, your older brother—for its supreme commitment to the bit.
Heidecker sometimes goes so far down his rabbit holes that his irony can be hard to parse at a glance. Which is of course, part of the fun. But such a style begs the question: how will this new media empire find its audience? And, will those so willing to follow a false prophet in the first place return, and miss the joke?
As a fan of On Cinema and almost everything The Onion‘s done, I’m personally keen to find out. And the minute there’s some dumb hat I can buy to support a grieving parent for gun control, count me in. But as this week’s episode of the New Yorker‘s Critics at Large podcast reminds us, we may have reached peak irony when it comes to the craven lunatics.
Time will tell.
Brittany Allen
Brittany K. Allen is a writer and actor living in Brooklyn.
