The Onion, the satirical news company that repeatedly made fun of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has won a bankruptcy auction for control of its media empire — specifically Infowars, the far-right, conspiracy-oriented website that served as Jones’ main online platform.
Jones announced the sale Thursday morning on X.
“I was just told 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and people had a meeting with the American trustee this morning about our bankruptcy and they said they’re going to close us down this morning even without a court order,” Jones said.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to stay here until they come and turn off the lights,” he added.
The Onion plans to close Jones’ Infowars and rebuild the website with well-known Internet humor writers and content creators, according to a person with knowledge of the sale. About an hour and a half after the sale was announced, Infowars’ website was shut down.
Attorneys for First United American Companies, which was named as a reserve bidder in the auction, filed a request Thursday for an immediate court hearing over The Onion’s win, alleging changing “procedures, lack of transparency and inaccurate disclosures to interested bidders.”
The group said there was urgency because “the value of the assets is currently on the verge of being destroyed.”
Jones, 50, one of the most prominent and financially successful alternative media personalities, built a small empire with a radio show-turned-Internet video operation around the Infowars brand, which focused on false and often outlandish claims about major conspiracies and governments. misconduct.
Details about Wednesday’s auction, including how much was bid for Free Speech Systems, Infowars’ parent company, and related assets, were not immediately known. The money generated from the sale is intended to satisfy creditors of Jones’ estate, largely families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, to whom he must pay damages over defamation lawsuits.
Sandy Hook families filed lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas, alleging that Jones defamed them on his show and caused them emotional distress by repeatedly suggesting that the shooting, in which a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six adults, was a fraud.
Juries found Jones liable for defamation and awarded the families a total of nearly $1.5 billion in their lawsuits, but they have been unable to collect anything from Jones, who claimed he could not pay that enormous sum. He filed for bankruptcy in late 2022, and a judge in June allowed him to liquidate his personal assets to help pay off the judgments.
The sale was supported by several Connecticut families of the Sandy Hook shootings, who were part of the lawsuit.
“Our clients knew that real accountability meant an end to Infowars and an end to Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain and fear on a massive scale,” Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut families, said in a statement. “By divesting Jones of Infowars assets, The Onion families and team have performed a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones’ ability to do more damage.”
Anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety said it will be the exclusive advertiser in The Onion’s new venture as part of a multi-year deal.
John Feinblatt, the group’s president, said in a statement that he hopes to “reach a new audience willing to hold the gun industry accountable for its contribution to our country’s gun violence epidemic.”
Since April, The Onion has been led by CEO Ben Collins, who previously covered disinformation and conspiracy theories for NBC News, a rhythm that often meant reporting from Jones. Collins has implemented several changes designed to monetize the company, including subscriptions, organized live events and bringing back physical copies of the newspaper and its television parody, the Onion News Network.
In June, Collins responded to calls from followers online that The Onion was purchasing Infowars with a “watch it” meme.
Those interested in acquiring Jones’ media company had submitted their final offers to federal court-appointed trustee Christopher Murray, who was tasked with choosing the best offer, but not necessarily the highest.
The identities of potential buyers were secret because they had to agree to non-disclosure agreements to receive bidding materials.
The auction companies that organized the auction said there are “no restrictions on the use of acquired properties in the bankruptcy order” and that the winner will have the choice of whether or not to continue Infowars’ operations.
On his show this week, amid pleas for listeners for subscriptions and the nutritional supplements he sells, Jones painted a picture of his potential buyers, describing a group of anonymous bidders as friendly financiers who would keep his show operating normally . Others, he said, were “bad guys” who would shut down Infowars.
Although he said he would continue broadcasting through an alternative channel if a new buyer ordered him to close, Jones noted he would be hampered by the loss of his brand, website and equipment, among other things.
“You leftists who celebrate the end of Alex Jones and Infowars, you are fools,” he said. “Just look.”
Up for grabs at the auction were Infowars production rights and materials, the Infowars store, domain names, production equipment and other assets – including a Terradyne armored vehicle and a Winnebago camper. the company ThreeSixty Asset Advisors. Jones broadcasts from the Austin, Texas area.
The auction is part of Murray’s “orderly wind-down process” under the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, which has overseen the final phase of the case against Jones, which stems from the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.
In appropriate form for the satirical website, The Onion’s press release announcing the sale was written in the voice of a CEO of Global Tetrahedron, a fictional evil company founded by Onion employees. Former technical director Jeff Lawson adopted the name Global Tetrahedron for his real-life company, which The Onion acquired from G/O Media in April.
“Through it all, InfoWars has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to inciting anger and radicalizing the most vulnerable members of society – values that resonate deeply with all of us at Global Tetrahedron,” the press release said.
Jones founded Infowars in 1999, which operates under Free Speech Systems. The company itself held about $6 million in cash and $1.2 million in inventory, according to previous court filings from June.
The families in Texas and Connecticut have discussed the liquidation process in court, raising concerns about how the money will be distributed. Still, they have said, Jones’ loss of his business brings some responsibility for his past words.
During his 2022 trial in Texas, Jones generally blamed the “corporate media” for twisting his words and misportraying him, but he did not indicate how.
Although Jones also testified that he believes Sandy Hook was “100% real,” he has used the ongoing lawsuits to boost his listenership as he faces the loss of Infowars.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
