Alex Jones’ media company, Infowars, has been sold at auction to the satirical news outlet, The Onion. A group of Connecticut families backed this sale. Jones announced on his show that he had been told to leave the premises immediately.
The money from the sale will go towards paying off Jones’ nearly $1.5 billion debt to the families of Sandy Hook victims. These families won defamation lawsuits against him for spreading false conspiracy theories about the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Jones falsely claimed that the shooting never happened and that the families were actors, which led to his supporters harassing them for years.
The Connecticut families agreed to reduce their recovery amount to help The Onion’s bid succeed. Their lawyer, Chris Mattei, said that true accountability meant ending Infowars and Jones’ ability to spread lies and fear.
The sale, which still needs approval from a bankruptcy court, includes Jones’ studio equipment, his online supplement store, domain names, customer lists, and some social media accounts, but not his X account.
Jones reacted angrily, accusing the auction house of changing the rules to benefit the families.
He claimed that the auction was supposed to be open but was changed to a sealed bid process at the last minute.
Jones hoped that a like-minded bidder would buy Infowars and hire him back. He vowed to continue his show, claiming that the attacks on him were increasing his reach. He also asked his audience for financial support by buying his merchandise and supplements.
Jones is appealing the court cases and has threatened to challenge the sale of his company. Despite his legal troubles, he has remained resilient and continues to have a significant following.
The families can still pursue Jones’ future earnings because the bankruptcy judge ruled that his actions were intentional and malicious, meaning he is not entitled to a clean slate. They have the right to go after any of their assets or income.