After a landmark defamation judgment and a two-year bankruptcy battle, satirical newspaper The Onion took control of Infowars, one of the internet’s most notorious disinformation brands, turning it against itself through satire.

At the centre of this extraordinary chapter is Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion and a former NBC News reporter who spent years investigating the conspiracy networks he now finds himself confronting from an entirely different vantage point.

Join Collins for a CJF J-Talk exploring what the Infowars saga reveals about today’s fractured media landscape. He’ll examine the role political satire can play in the news and information ecosystem, and why humour may be uniquely equipped to expose power, misinformation, AI-generated content and political absurdity in ways that complement and strengthen traditional journalism.

Registration required. All tickets include popcorn, drink and snack.

Speaker Bios:

Ben Collins

Ben Collins is the CEO of The Onion, America’s Finest News Source™. He has overseen the 270-year-old American institution and its 4.3-trillion human readership since April 2024. Taking advantage of cheap Canadian timber, a country that will never be tariffed, The Onion returned to print in August 2024. The Onion now ships its monthly newspaper to over 40 countries and all 50 states — even, regretfully, Massachusetts. The company relaunched The Onion News Network in October 2024, joining other news networks in babysitting America’s elderly.

Collins previously worked at NBC News as a senior reporter, where he won an Emmy and a Walter Cronkite Award, and The Daily Beast as a Senior Editor, where awards are cause for termination. His social security number consists of only 5s and 2s, in an order he will not disclose.