A US bankruptcy judge has rejected the sale of Alex Jones’s Infowars website to The Onion, a satirical news outlet. After a two-day hearing, Judge Christopher Lopez determined that the auction for Infowars did not yield the highest possible bids. However, he dismissed Jones’s allegations of “collusion” during the auction process.
The Onion, in its bid, stated that it was supported by the families of victims from the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. These families had previously won a $1.5 billion defamation lawsuit against Jones for spreading false information about the tragedy.
Judge Lopez stated that the bankruptcy trustee responsible for overseeing the Infowars auction made a “good-faith error.” Instead of immediately requesting final offers, the trustee should have encouraged more competitive bidding between The Onion and a company linked to Jones’s supplement business. Lopez said the auction should have been reopened to allow further bids from all interested parties.
Jones celebrated the judge’s decision, calling the auction process “ridiculous” and “fraudulent.” Meanwhile, Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, expressed disappointment over the ruling but stated that they would continue pursuing the acquisition of Infowars.
Jones, originally a fringe broadcaster in Austin, Texas during the 1990s, gained millions of followers by blending opinion, speculation, and outright falsehoods. His company primarily generates revenue from selling products like vitamins online.
Jones’s financial troubles stemmed from his broadcasts following the tragic 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in which 20 children and six adults were killed. Jones and his guests repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories, claiming the massacre might have been faked or orchestrated by government agents. At one point, Jones called it “a giant hoax” and said it involved “actors.”
Jones’s conspiracy theories led to harassment of the victims’ families, with some being sent disturbing photos of deceased children and their gravestones, while others had their personal information posted online. Several individuals even traveled to Newtown to “investigate” the incident, and some were arrested for harassing the families.
Although Jones later admitted the shooting was real, he insisted his statements were protected under US free speech laws. However, the families of the victims won defamation lawsuits against him and his company. In 2022, Jones filed for bankruptcy as the Sandy Hook case progressed, and by June 2024, a judge ordered the liquidation of his personal assets, including his multimillion-dollar ranch and other properties, totaling about $8.6 million.
