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.
Source:
lithub.com
