Judge Denies Sale of Infowars to The Onion Amid Controversy

U.S. bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez has rejected the sale of Alex Jones’s Infowars platform to parody news outlet The Onion, highlighting improper auction procedures and the influence of victims’ families in the defamation case against Jones.

In a surprising turn of events, a U.S. bankruptcy judge has ruled against the purchase of Infowars, the controversial website helmed by right-wing figure Alex Jones, by the satirical news platform The Onion. Judge Christopher Lopez presided over a two-day hearing where he deemed the auction process insufficient, asserting that it failed to elicit the best possible bids.

The proposed sale was significantly backed by the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, who recently won a notable $1.5 billion defamation lawsuit against Jones for his harmful and untrue claims surrounding the tragic event. However, Judge Lopez refuted Jones's allegations of an unfair auction plagued by collusion. The judge stated that the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee made "a good-faith error" during the auction proceedings.

According to Judge Lopez, the trustee should have encouraged more vigorous bidding between The Onion and a competitor tied to Jones’s supplement business. "This should have been opened back up, and it should have been opened back up for everybody," he declared, highlighting his concerns over the auction's integrity.

Once a fringe voice in the 1990s, Jones gained notoriety over the years, building a vast audience through an array of opinion pieces, conspiracy theories, and misinformation. His financial woes largely stem from statements made following the devastating shooting at Sandy Hook in December 2012, where 20 children and six adults were murdered by a gunman.

Jones perpetuated theories suggesting the massacre was fabricated, questioning the reality of the attack and labeling it "a giant hoax." His broadcast claims have led to harassment against the victims’ families, sparking legal action that ultimately concluded with significant defamation rulings against him and his business.

In 2022, amid ongoing legal battles from the Sandy Hook case, Jones filed for bankruptcy. A subsequent ruling in 2024 mandated the liquidation of his personal assets, including properties and vehicles, totaling around $8.6 million as per court filings. The outcome of the Infowars auction remains a pivotal chapter in the intricate legal saga surrounding Alex Jones and his volatile influence in media and society.