• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, August 15, 2017

The combative spirit of our age is reflected in Alex Jones’ conception of news and information as war — a struggle between opposing sides contesting fundamental facts and the intellectual basis of what used to be a shared worldview. On that note, the Infowars publisher and purveyor of alt-right conspiracy theories has launched a new Web site called — wait for it — NewsWars.com, which he positioned as “a new media platform in the battle against fake news!”

The new Web site, unveiled by Jones during his radio show, represents the first extension of his media brand since he previously hinted at plans to launch a new “TV network.” While not that, the new site clearly aims for a more button-down presentation, for example by borrowing visual elements from the look and layout of The Washington Post and The New York Times.

What’s the difference between Infowars and Newswars in terms of content? At launch, the latter appears to be more tightly focused on both aggregating and discrediting or countering mainstream news media reports on current events, including citing other conservative and alt-right news publishers ˆ as opposed to spinning conspiracy theories and presenting overt opinion and incitement.

Jones presented a slightly opaque explanation of the Web site’s rationale: “We launched Infowars in 1997. I was on air two years before that. But in the modern world, this is the news war. And it’s a fight between those that tell the truth and those who lie.” An announcement on the site was more explicit: “Make no mistake, we are now in a news war as globalist-minded monopoly men buy up various mainstream media outlets to spew their own propaganda intended to usher in a post-America world. And that’s why we need to bring truth back to the media, and Newswars.com is ready for that task.”

The ideological orientation of the new site, and its consciously crafted role as a counter to the mainstream news media’s alleged bias, are evident in small details, like the adoption of a masthead slogan, apparently in mocking reference to The Washington Post’s own self-serious motto, “Democracy Dies In Darkness.”

Newswars’ offerings include “Lies Die in Light” and “Rebooting America,” and “Making America Free Again,” as well as “Chronicling/Documenting the fall of globalism.”

Jones, long a voice on the alt-right, rose to prominence during the 2016 presidential election peddling a variety of conspiracy theories, including the claim that leading Democratic politicians were hosting a child sex slave ring in a Washington, D.C., pizzeria, prompting at least one reader to “self-investigate” the story by commandeering the restaurant with a gun.

Jones gained additional exposure in June in an interview with NBC News’ Megyn Kelly, who asked Jones about his repeated statements that the shootings at Sandy Hook were the result of a liberal conspiracy to justify gun control.