A U.S. judge ruled to stop the parody news site The Onion from buying conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars website, stating that the bankruptcy auction did not yield the best possible bids. The judge rejected Jones’ claims of collusion and criticized the trustee for not encouraging more bidding between The Onion and a company affiliated with Jones’ supplement-selling businesses. The judge deemed that neither of the offers for Infowars were sufficient given Jones’ debts and instructed the trustee to resolve disputes between creditors before attempting to sell Infowars again. Jones declared bankruptcy in 2022 to pay legal judgments to the families of Sandy Hook victims after being accused of defamation. The Onion plans to relaunch Infowars as a parody site with less hateful disinformation. Jones’ attorney argued that The Onion bid with smoke and mirrors calculations. The Sandy Hook families, Jones’ largest creditors, agreed to forgo repayment to support The Onion’s bid. The trustee overseeing the auction testified that the process was fair, and the losing bidder only complained after learning they were not chosen. The judge’s decision highlights the importance of ensuring fairness and maximizing value in bankruptcy auctions.
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