The Onion’s Infowars Acquisition in Legal Limbo as Texas Supreme Court Weighs In
A proposed deal for the satirical news site The Onion to take control of Alex Jones’s Infowars media platform is currently in legal limbo, with the matter now pending before the Supreme Court of Texas.
The deal, which would see The Onion license the Infowars brand to parody its content, has been opposed by Jones, who has stated his intention to continue broadcasting on a new platform.
Background and Defamation Judgment
The legal proceedings stem from a 2022 defamation judgment against Alex Jones. Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, were found liable for repeatedly claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. The families of shooting victims were awarded damages totaling over $1.3 billion. Jones has not paid any portion of these damages to date.
As a result of the judgment, Jones’s assets, including the assets of Free Speech Systems, have been placed under the control of a court-appointed receiver to satisfy the debt. A previous attempt by The Onion to purchase Infowars through a federal bankruptcy auction in 2024 was rejected by a federal bankruptcy judge, who cited concerns about the auction process and bid disputes.
Proposed Licensing Agreement
The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, has reached an agreement with the court-appointed receiver to license the Infowars domain name and brand. According to court documents, the receiver “determined that licensing the Intellectual Property is in the best interest of the receivership estate.”
Key terms of the proposed licensing agreement include:
- Monthly Fee: The Onion would pay $81,000 per month to lease the Infowars assets.
- Duration: The initial lease is for six months, with an option to renew for an additional six months.
- Purpose: The fee is intended to cover costs for preserving the assets while Jones’s appeal of the defamation judgment is resolved.
- Hearing: A hearing on the licensing agreement was scheduled for April 30 in Travis County, Texas.
The owner of The Onion, Ben Collins, stated the company would transform Infowars into a digital platform and comedy network. Comedian Tim Heidecker has been named as the creative director of the new outlet, which is planned to feature satire parodying media figures, including Jones.
Legal Challenges and Current Status
A Texas judge provisionally approved the licensing deal, but the final ruling is pending. Alex Jones has stated he will appeal any court decision that approves the deal.
On Wednesday, a Texas appeals court granted an emergency request from Jones to pause the licensing agreement, placing the deal in a state of legal uncertainty. In response, attorneys for the Sandy Hook families filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas on Thursday. Control of the Infowars brand remains pending further court decisions.
Statements from Parties Involved
Alex Jones called the appeals court decision a “massive victory.” He stated that the court-appointed receiver has ceased paying expenses for his Austin studio, including rent, internet, and satellite services. He indicated that Thursday would be the last Infowars broadcast from that location and stated his intention to move to a new studio and continue his show under a different name on a new site.
Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, characterized the legal delays as “insane, unprecedented legal stalling.” He stated the deal was a “chance to make something genuinely new out of a very broken piece of media history.”
Chris Mattei, Attorney for the Sandy Hook Families, stated that the families “took on Alex Jones to stop him from inflicting the same harm on others” and that the deal would turn “the machinery of lies that Jones built” into a “force for social good.” He stated that the families have “endless patience” and called for a speedy resolution in court.