Jones – once close to Donald Trump – declared bankruptcy after he was ordered to pay $1.5 billion to families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, which he had claimed was a hoax.

Lawyers representing the victims backed The Onion’s bid for Infowars at a court-ordered auction.

“By divesting Jones of Infowars’ assets, the families and the team at The Onion have done a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones’ ability to do more harm,” attorney Chris Mattei, who represents eight of the families, said.

The Infowars website is currently unavailable and the new owners say they intend to relaunch it next year as “a very funny, very stupid website”.