Infowars sale to The Onion on hold pending judge’s review

Nov 15, 2024

Lauren Taylor Reporter

By Lauren Taylor (Reporter), Alex Delia (Producer), Jack Henry (Video Editor)

A judge has paused the sale of Alex Jones’ Infowars to satirical news outlet The Onion over concerns about the auction’s transparency. The decision comes as families of Sandy Hook victims back the deal, which would transform Infowars into a parody site focused on far-right conspiracy theories.

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According to The Associated Press, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez announced the pause during a court hearing Thursday, Nov. 14, stating that he plans to hold an evidentiary hearing to review the sale.

“We’re all going to an evidentiary hearing, and I’m going to figure out exactly what happened,” Lopez said.

Infowars and most of its assets are being auctioned as part of Alex Jones' personal bankruptcy on Wednesday. — Getty Images

Lopez, presiding in Houston, did not set a date for the hearing but raised concerns over why the auction didn’t include an overbidding round. Walter Cicack, an attorney for First United American Companies, which bid $3.5 million, said his client was not allowed to improve their offer.

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Christopher Murray, the trustee overseeing the auction, said The Onion’s bid was deemed better despite not being the highest because some Sandy Hook families agreed to forgo proceeds to pay other creditors.

Alex Jones owes nearly $1.5 billion to these families after falsely claiming the 2012 school shooting was a hoax.

Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, said the company’s bid was intended to prevent Jones from continuing his controversial online presence.

If approved, Infowars would relaunch in January as a satirical site parodying far-right conspiracy theories. Everytown for Gun Safety would serve as the exclusive advertiser, aligning with The Onion’s history of promoting gun law reform through satire.

The judge plans to review the auction process at next week’s hearing, though no date has been set.

Tags: Alex Jones, Austin, Connecticut, Defamation Lawsuit, Disinformation, Lawsuit, Misinformation, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Texas

[Lauren Taylor]

THE SALE OF ALEX JONES’ INFOWARS TO SATIRICAL NEWS OUTLET THE ONION IS NOW ON HOLD, AFTER THE JUDGE RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT THE TRANSPARENCY OF THE AUCTION.

Alex Jones
“Now, I have major breaking news for everyone… The headlines you see everywhere that The Onion bought Infowars… Is not true… The judge had an emergency hearing today that we filed at 8am this morning.”

A U-S BANKRUPTCY JUDGE HAS PAUSED THE SALE PENDING A HEARING TO REVIEW THE PROCESS, EXPRESSING DOUBTS ABOUT THE FAIRNESS OF THE AUCTION ACCORDING TO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

THE HEARING, EXPECTED NEXT WEEK, WILL DETERMINE WHETHER THE SATIRICAL OUTLET’S BID WAS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF JONES AND HIS CREDITORS.

A COMPETING BIDDER CLAIMS THEIR 3-POINT-5 MILLION DOLLAR OFFER WASN’T ALLOWED TO BE IMPROVED. HOWEVER, AN AUCTION TRUSTEE SAYS THE ONION’S BID WAS MORE FAVORABLE BECAUSE SANDY HOOK FAMILIES, OWED NEARLY 1-POINT-5 BILLION BY JONES, AGREED TO FORGO SOME PROCEEDS TO PAY OTHER CREDITORS.

THE JUDGE ALSO ADMITTED THEY WERE SURPRISED THAT THE AUCTION DIDN’T INCLUDE AN OVERBIDDING ROUND.

THE ONION AIMS TO RELAUNCH INFOWARS IN JANUARY AS A PARODY OF FAR-RIGHT CONSPIRACY THEORIES, WITH ‘EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY’ AS ITS EXCLUSIVE ADVERTISER.

BEN COLLINS, CEO OF THE ONION, ADDRESSED THESE TRANSPARENCY CLAIMS THE SAME DAY.Ben Collins. CEO. The Onion
“Yeah look we won the bid uh we we we we own Infowars and we are very excited about it”

George Stephanopoulos
“but is it true that you didn’t have the highest bid?”

Ben Collins. CEO. The Onion
“uh we we did we we did have the highest bid when you take into account the the fam’s uh concessions here they they made a a concerted effort to make their make this the best and highest bid for everybody involved um so we’re very excited to take that over”

SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

THE JUDGE WILL REVIEW THE CASE IN AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING TO ENSURE THE SALE WAS FAIR AND TRANSPARENT. IF BLOCKED, THE AUCTION COULD BE REOPENED. WHETHER OR NOT THE ONION TAKES OVER… IS STILL UP IN THE AIR.

SINCE THE AUCTION… THE INFOWARS WAS TAKEN OFFLINE, SHOWING ONLY THE WORDS, “SITE UNAVAILABLE TILL FURTHER NOTICE.” HOWEVER… IT IS CURRENTLY BACK ONLINE AND OPERATING AS NORMAL.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M LAUREN TAYLOR.

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