Remember when The Onion bought Alex Jones’ Infowars and the internet lost its mind? Well, a federal judge just rejected the sale.
According to AP News, U.S. bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez refused to approve the sale due to concerns about transparency. Originally, The Onion planned to relaunch Infowars as a parody site and boot Jones. This decision was backed by families of Sandy Hook massacre victims, seeing as the conspiracy outlet claimed the shooting was a hoax.
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However, Jones might be able to keep Infowars for now.
“We are deeply disappointed in today’s decision, but The Onion will continue to seek a resolution that helps the Sandy Hook families receive a positive outcome for the horror they endured,” Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s parent company, said on social media.
Jones filed for bankruptcy back in 2022—after he was ordered to pay $1.5 billion in defamation lawsuits for his comments about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. As part of his bankruptcy case, the Infowars sale is meant to pay back some of the money to Sandy Hook victims’ families.
Judge Lopez, however, cited flaws with The Onion’s bidding for the site, yet insisted that everyone “put their best foot forward and tried to play within the rules.” The Onion offered $1.75 million for Infowars, and some of the Sandy Hook families backed the auction by forgoing $750,000 of the auction proceeds.
Depending on the auction winner, Jones might still access Infowars—which he wouldn’t have been able to do if The Onion had won. In fact, The Onion planned to turn the conspiracy outlet into a parody site—a decision backed by many.
Christopher Mattei, the lawyer for the Sandy Hook families who sued Jones, also expressed his disappointment in the ruling.
“These families, who have already persevered through countless delays and roadblocks, remain resilient and determined as ever to hold Alex Jones and his corrupt businesses accountable for the harm he has caused,” Mattei said in a statement. “This decision doesn’t change the fact that, soon, Alex Jones will begin to pay his debt to these families and he will continue doing so for as long as it takes.”
