Judge Rejects The Onion’s Bid to Buy Alex Jones’ Infowars

A bankruptcy judge rejected the sale of Alex Jones’ Infowars (Right bias) to satirical news site The Onion (Lean Left bias), citing a flawed auction process. 

The Details: Judge Christopher Lopez said the court-appointed trustee who facilitated the auction didn’t run a transparent process that encouraged competitive bids. The judge rejected Jones’ claim that the action was plagued by illegal collusion.

For Context: Auction proceeds will go to the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, which Jones repeatedly claimed was staged. In 2022, Jones was ordered to pay the families $1.5 billion, but in 2023 they said they would accept the sale of his assets instead. In June, a judge ordered Jones to liquidate personal assets.

The Bid: The Onion offered $1.75 million cash and partnered with victims’ families to forgo proceeds and make a noncash pledge. The trustee, Christopher Murray, valued the bid at $7 million total. A rival bidder associated with Jones offered $3.5 million in cash.

Key Quotes: Murray said, “I’ve conducted an open process. I haven’t excluded anyone from participating.” Lopez said, “It didn’t even feel like they understood what they understood, speaking of the trustee and the auctioneer.” He also said, “I don’t even think the $3.5 million is enough.”

How the Media Covered It: Center and left outlets highlighted that Lopez said Murray acted in “good faith” though outlets from the right did not mention this. AllSides did not find Lopez’s full statement linked in coverage. Outlets across the spectrum included a quote from The Onion CEO Ben Collins, who said, “We appreciate that the court repeatedly recognized The Onion acted in good faith.”