Following a judge’s decision on Thursday to initiate an evidentiary hearing regarding The Onion‘s acquisition of Infowars, the operations of Alex Jones’ site were resumed, claiming that the sale was obstructed. Contrary to this assertion, Onion CEO Ben Collins provided an update on Bluesky and X on Saturday, stating, “We left the hearing with clear next steps to complete the sale.” Collins indicated that a court date has been appointed for a week from Monday, when it is anticipated that the process will be completed, and Infowars has requested to continue publishing during this period. “In summary: We secured the auction, and — you’re not going to believe this — the previous InfoWars team isn’t reacting well,” Collins commented.
“During Thursday’s proceedings, the auction director confirmed that The Onion’s bid for InfoWars, together with the Sandy Hook families from Connecticut, was successful,” Collins noted in the thread. “We haven’t received any updates altering that decision — except, predictably, from the current InfoWars operators, continuing their usual antics.” Predictably, Jones called the auction “rigged,” commenting in a livestream on X that legal representatives for Elon Musk’s social media site were involved and attended the hearing, as reported by Mother Jones.
The Onion only competed against one other bidder in the auction for Infowars: First United American Companies, associated with a site marketing Jones’ supplements. The company reportedly placed a $3.5 million bid. The financial specifics of Global Tetrahedron’s (The Onion’s parent company) bid remain undisclosed, but it has the backing of the Sandy Hook victims’ families. According to Bloomberg, trustee Christopher Murray, managing the liquidation of Jones’ estate, indicated that these families have “agreed to relinquish their potential recovery in favor of all other unsecured creditors” that Jones is liable to.
“A status conference with the auction-supervising judge occurred on Thursday, soon after our victory was confirmed,” Collins, previously an NBC News reporter focusing on disinformation and online extremism, stated in Saturday’s thread. “The judge posed questions about the procedures and certain assets. We appreciate his scrutiny, as our joint bid with the families is unquestionably superior, and transparency is always preferred.” He further noted: “We anticipated these developments, naturally. Acquiring this site promised future enjoyment but presented immediate challenges. The enjoyable part is forthcoming.”
Collins’ strategy for Infowars entails reinventing it as “the most absurd website on the internet.” The nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety is poised to be the sole advertiser at the onset.
