US judge rejects sale of conspiracy site Infowars to The Onion

WASHINGTON – A US federal judge has blocked the sale of Infowars, the website founded by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, to satirical news outlet The Onion, local media reported.

Judge Christopher Lopez blocked the sale on Dec 10 after a two-day hearing at the federal bankruptcy court in Houston, citing concerns about the bidding process, according to US media.

Mr Jones used his Infowars platform to mount a sustained campaign of lies that one of the most notorious school shooting massacres in US history had been a hoax and staged with actors pretending to be murdered children.

He was forced to auction off the website after losing a US$1.4 billion (S$1.9 billion) defamation suit brought by the families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

A total of 20 children between six and seven years old and six school staff were gunned down by a 20-year-old former pupil.

In the years that followed, Mr Jones not just spread his conspiracy theory, but his supporters also harassed the dead children’s parents online and in person, accusing them of being so-called “crisis actors”.

The Onion, famous for its light-hearted mock news articles lampooning US society and politics, said in November that it had bought Infowars at a bankruptcy auction with the support of the victims’ families.

But Judge Lopez reportedly said the bankruptcy auction failed to maximise the amount of money that the sale of Infowars would provide to Mr Jones’ creditors, including the Sandy Hook families, in part because the bids were submitted in secret.

The ruling was a win for Mr Jones, who has said the bidding process was plagued by what he called “collusion”, a claim reportedly rejected by the judge.

Mr Jones reacted to the ruling in a video broadcast on social media platform X, saying: “Finally, a judge followed the law.”

Judge Lopez has instructed a court-appointed trustee, Mr Christopher Murray, to come up with an alternative resolution, The New York Times reported.

Mr Ben Collins, chief executive of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the judge’s decision.

“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,” Mr Collins posted on X.

The Onion had planned to run Infowars as a parody, with an anti-gun violence non-profit founded after the 2012 shooting advertised on the new website due to launch in January. AFP