The Onion has reportedly reached a deal to take control ofAlex Jones' Infowars in a move that could see the controversial conspiracy media platform transformed into a satirical outlet, pending court approval.
The arrangement involves a licensing agreement valued at $81,000 (£59,903) per month for the Infowars domain name and intellectual property, according to reports. The deal remains subject to approval by a bankruptcy court-appointed administrator and a judge, with legal proceedings still ongoing.
The development comes after years of financial and legal turmoil surrounding Infowars, following high-profile defamation judgments against its founder, Alex Jones.
Under the reported agreement, The Onion's parent company, Global Tetrahedron, would obtain rights to operate Infowars.com through a temporary licensing structure, as reported byVariety. The deal is understood to run for an initial six-month period, with an option to renew for a further six months.
The arrangement covers the use of Infowars' domain name and associated intellectual property, rather than a full outright purchase of assets. Thereported monthly paymentof $81,000 (£59,903) forms part of the licensing terms, which were negotiated under the supervision of a court-appointed administrator managing the bankruptcy process.
Any transfer of control remains dependent on formal approval by a judge overseeing the case, meaning the transition has not yet taken effect.
The potential takeover comes amid the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings of Infowars' parent company, which entered financial collapse following major defamation lawsuits. Alex Jones was ordered to pay approximately $1.4 billion (£1.035 billion) in damages to families of victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting after he falsely claimed the attack was staged.
Those rulings, delivered in 2022, were upheld after Jones exhausted appeals, including a rejected challenge to the Supreme Court. The financial liabilities led to court-supervised restructuring and the attempted liquidation of Infowars assets.
In a previous development, a cash bid by The Onion to acquire Infowars assets was rejected by a Texas bankruptcy judge in late 2024. The court raised concerns about procedural clarity in the auction process and noted that creditor interests required better financial resolution.
If approved, the licensing agreement would allow The Onion to relaunch Infowars as a satirical digital platform. The company has indicated that the site would be restructured as a comedy network, blending established and emerging comedic voices.
Source: International Business Times UK
