The parent company of the satirical newspaper The Onion agreed to acquire the Infowars trademark, storefront, website and other assets at auction for around $7 million, according to court documents reviewed by The Desk this week.
The bid included $1.5 million in cash and the rest in future financial commitments promised by the families of school shooting victims, who emerged victorious in a defamation lawsuit against Infowars founder Alex Jones several years ago. The $1.5 billion judgment against Jones spurred the auction involving his personal and business assets, including those connected to the Infowars radio program.
The financial detailed emerged after the auction’s only other bidder, First United American Companies, raised concerns with a federal bankruptcy court about the handling of the process. First United committed $3 million in cash for Infowars, or twice the amount that The Onion’s parent, Global Tetrahedron, was willing or able to pay.
Last week, Global Tetrahedron affirmed its future plan to relaunch the Infowars website and social media properties as parodies of the conspiracy-laced radio program that Jones founded in 1999. Their bid had the support of the Sandy Hook families, which represent victims who were shot and killed in a shooting spree at a Connecticut school in 2012. Jones has raised doubts about whether the shooting took place (it did), and his comments ultimately spurred his audience to harass the families of the victims, leading to the lawsuits.
A judge overseeing the case affirmed the scheduling of a hearing to discuss whether the auction was conducted in line with the court’s orders in the bankruptcy case. Discovery is being exchanged among relevant parties this week, with the hearing set for next Monday.
Global Tetrahedron is moving forward, despite the legal challenges. Jones has since announced the forthcoming launch of the “Alex Jones Network,” which is expected to distribute a radio program, podcast and video series similar to Infowars, utilizing the same radio affiliates that carried his former show.
