Ben Collins Is on the 2026 TIME100 Next - Time Magazine
They say he who laughs last, laughs best. And Ben Collins is the best. A journalist who covered the deadly serious issue of disinformation for NBC until 2024 has found a fresh approach to addressing the conspiracy theories that have run rampant across the media landscape, and, as CEO of satirical news site The Onion, he’s putting those ideas into practice. Ben finds the humor in the news and uses it to point to the seriousness of the moment. If laughter is the best medicine, it turns out we need an IV drip of The Onion stat.
Since taking the helm, Ben has relaunched the print edition, growing its circulation to tens of thousands, and, following the bankruptcy of Alex Jones’ disinformation juggernaut Infowars, relaunched that brand as a parody site in July. This success has been a bright spot in a bleak period for the media industry and Ben is pioneering innovative ways to reinvent the media as independent—and also hysterical, in the right way, again.
