Infowars Goes Offline as The Onion Battles for Control
Original: Infowars Site Goes Offline Amid The Onion’s Legal Battle to Secure Control of Right-Wing Outlet
Why This Matters
Major legal precedent for bankruptcy asset transfers and media outlet acquisitions
Alex Jones' Infowars website went offline Friday morning displaying 'Off Air' message amid legal battle with satirical publisher The Onion. Texas appeals court halted The Onion's $81,000 monthly licensing deal to take over the conspiracy site.
Infowars.com displayed a blank 'Off Air' page Friday morning as The Onion attempts to complete its takeover of Alex Jones' conspiracy website. A Texas appeals court granted an emergency motion Thursday to halt the court-appointed bankruptcy administrator from giving The Onion access to Infowars.com. The matter returns to lower court with a May 28 hearing scheduled. The Onion's parent company Global Tetrahedron announced a deal in April to pay $81,000 monthly for six months to license the Infowars domain and intellectual property, with potential full purchase later. Proceeds would go to Sandy Hook families who won $1.4 billion in defamation judgments against Jones in 2022 for his false conspiracy theories about the school shooting.