A U.S. judge has stopped parody news site The Onion from buying conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars website, ruling that the bankruptcy auction did not result in the best possible bids. The judge rejected Jones’ claims of collusion but noted that the trustee made an error by not encouraging more bidding between The Onion and a company affiliated with Jones. The judge stated that neither offer for Infowars was enough given Jones’ debts and asked the trustee to work on resolving disputes between creditors before attempting a new sale. The Onion was named the winning bidder in the auction, but Jones and his company argued that the sale process was tainted. Jones declared bankruptcy in 2022 to pay legal judgments to the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, with courts ruling he defamed them with false claims. The Onion plans to relaunch Infowars as a parody site with less hateful disinformation in 2025. Jones’ attorney criticized The Onion’s bid, stating it relied on smoke and mirrors calculations. The Sandy Hook families, Jones’ largest creditors, boosted The Onion’s bid by forgoing some repayment. The court-appointed trustee testified that the auction was fair, and the losing bidder only complained after their bid was not chosen.
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