6 ms·

Buy Infowars for the Memes

35 points by feross 2y ago

ioblomov 2y ago
https://archive.ph/8ffcM https://archive.ph/8ffcM
yalogin 2y ago
This is interesting, can either the judge or the lawyer for the victims not ask the website and assets to be permanently barred from operation? I think that is where the value is for the victims. Even if some party comes in and purchases it, what is to prevent the assaulter from buying it back, he is already offering 8 million in cash, wihch means any one buying it for less will be able to make an immediate profit. However, if the judge can ban it from operation entirely that will be valuable as at least one less website peddling blatant lies.
- reverendsteveii 2y ago
  >I think that is where the value is for the victims. A lot of the victims agreed with you, which is why they agreed to forfeit any claims they had if the sale to the onion went through a few months back (which would result in the site either being shut down or being distorted outside its original intent so much that for all intents and purposes the infowars that hurt them would exist no more). The judge decided to void that sale because he knows better than the victims what the victims want and he decided the victims wanted the cash amount of the sale to be as high as possible.
gundmc 2y ago
Matt Levine is one of the most entertaining and informative business writers around. Bloomberg is paywalled, but if you sign up for Matt's newsletter you can get his articles for free via email. I highly recommend supporting him if you enjoy the writing. https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/money-stuff https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/money-stuff
- financetechbro 2y ago
  Matt Levine is great. He also wrote about DeepSeek in summer 2024, just to say he has great insights
zdw 2y ago
How does someone who was sued for everything and declared bankruptcy come up with 8 million in cash in a shell corporation so quickly?
- xnx 2y ago
  There have to be dozens of billionaires that would give out that type of pocket change to "own the libs".
- yalogin 2y ago
  Because he stashed away all his earnings using may layers and indirection, and our government systems are not equipped or not motivated to find them all?
  - NotYourLawyer 2y ago
    Doubt it. You can bet the bankruptcy judge will be taking a hard look at where these funds came from. More likely he just has wealthy friends/allies.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- reverendsteveii 2y ago
  The ultra rich have a direct line to the people who decide how these laws work. There are commonly-known, well-documented ways to shield your assets from bankruptcy or from judgments, and no one will do anything about them because they can't risk losing the support of the oligarchy.
  - NotYourLawyer 2y ago
    Oligarchs don’t declare bankruptcy very often.
    - reverendsteveii 2y ago
rikafurude21 2y ago
I've seen this case a bunch of times but I can never wrap my head around how the judge arrived at the 1.5 Billion dollars, because Alex Jones falsely claimed the school shooting was staged. How did that claim cause 1.5 Billion, with a B, in damages to the victims?
- galleywest200 2y ago
  This is a bit reductionist. These people were followed and harassed by his followers for years. Remember, this is a guy who sells a bunch of "prepper" gear to prepare for some imaginary future conflict. There are certain types of people who listen to every word he says, and he knows this. https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-infowars-bankruptcy-sandy-hook-0c3576e3c4bd853ac2cc5342118fca8c https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-infowars-bankruptcy-sa... >The shooting had barely happened when Jones began pushing the falsehood that it was a hoax. Victims’ families who sued Jones said they were subjected to years of torment, threats and abuse by people who believed the lies told on his show. One father said conspiracy theorists urinated on his 7-year-old son’s grave and threatened to dig up the coffin.
  - glenstein 2y ago
    >These people were followed and harassed by his followers for years. And not only that, it likely would have continued in perpetuity with the continued operation of Infowars.
- yorwba 2y ago
  The amount was awarded by a jury, and it's split across 15 plaintiffs: https://abcnews.go.com/US/jury-reaches-verdict-alex-jones-pay-sandy-hook/story?id=91399930 https://abcnews.go.com/US/jury-reaches-verdict-alex-jones-pa...
  - benmmurphy 2y ago
    1.5 billion over 15 plaintiffs does seem high. i was under the assumption a wrongful death would not reach 100 million often. so its kind of questionable that is he is paying out an average of 100 million per plaintiff for the torts he was found liable for.
hooverd 2y ago
Mark Cuban please buy Infowars.

35 points by feross 2y ago

https://archive.ph/8ffcM https://archive.ph/8ffcM

This is interesting, can either the judge or the lawyer for the victims not ask the website and assets to be permanently barred from operation? I think that is where the value is for the victims. Even if some party comes in and purchases it, what is to prevent the assaulter from buying it back, he is already offering 8 million in cash, wihch means any one buying it for less will be able to make an immediate profit. However, if the judge can ban it from operation entirely that will be valuable as at least one less website peddling blatant lies.

reverendsteveii 2y ago
>I think that is where the value is for the victims. A lot of the victims agreed with you, which is why they agreed to forfeit any claims they had if the sale to the onion went through a few months back (which would result in the site either being shut down or being distorted outside its original intent so much that for all intents and purposes the infowars that hurt them would exist no more). The judge decided to void that sale because he knows better than the victims what the victims want and he decided the victims wanted the cash amount of the sale to be as high as possible.

gundmc 2y ago

Matt Levine is one of the most entertaining and informative business writers around. Bloomberg is paywalled, but if you sign up for Matt's newsletter you can get his articles for free via email. I highly recommend supporting him if you enjoy the writing. https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/money-stuff https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/money-stuff

financetechbro 2y ago
Matt Levine is great. He also wrote about DeepSeek in summer 2024, just to say he has great insights

zdw 2y ago

How does someone who was sued for everything and declared bankruptcy come up with 8 million in cash in a shell corporation so quickly?

xnx 2y ago
There have to be dozens of billionaires that would give out that type of pocket change to "own the libs".
yalogin 2y ago
Because he stashed away all his earnings using may layers and indirection, and our government systems are not equipped or not motivated to find them all?
- NotYourLawyer 2y ago
  Doubt it. You can bet the bankruptcy judge will be taking a hard look at where these funds came from. More likely he just has wealthy friends/allies.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
reverendsteveii 2y ago
The ultra rich have a direct line to the people who decide how these laws work. There are commonly-known, well-documented ways to shield your assets from bankruptcy or from judgments, and no one will do anything about them because they can't risk losing the support of the oligarchy.
- NotYourLawyer 2y ago
  Oligarchs don’t declare bankruptcy very often.
  - reverendsteveii 2y ago

rikafurude21 2y ago

I've seen this case a bunch of times but I can never wrap my head around how the judge arrived at the 1.5 Billion dollars, because Alex Jones falsely claimed the school shooting was staged. How did that claim cause 1.5 Billion, with a B, in damages to the victims?

galleywest200 2y ago
This is a bit reductionist. These people were followed and harassed by his followers for years. Remember, this is a guy who sells a bunch of "prepper" gear to prepare for some imaginary future conflict. There are certain types of people who listen to every word he says, and he knows this. https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-infowars-bankruptcy-sandy-hook-0c3576e3c4bd853ac2cc5342118fca8c https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-infowars-bankruptcy-sa... >The shooting had barely happened when Jones began pushing the falsehood that it was a hoax. Victims’ families who sued Jones said they were subjected to years of torment, threats and abuse by people who believed the lies told on his show. One father said conspiracy theorists urinated on his 7-year-old son’s grave and threatened to dig up the coffin.
- glenstein 2y ago
  >These people were followed and harassed by his followers for years. And not only that, it likely would have continued in perpetuity with the continued operation of Infowars.
yorwba 2y ago
The amount was awarded by a jury, and it's split across 15 plaintiffs: https://abcnews.go.com/US/jury-reaches-verdict-alex-jones-pay-sandy-hook/story?id=91399930 https://abcnews.go.com/US/jury-reaches-verdict-alex-jones-pa...
- benmmurphy 2y ago
  1.5 billion over 15 plaintiffs does seem high. i was under the assumption a wrongful death would not reach 100 million often. so its kind of questionable that is he is paying out an average of 100 million per plaintiff for the torts he was found liable for.

hooverd 2y ago

Mark Cuban please buy Infowars.