The purchase of Infowars by the satirical news publication The Onion is the latest twist in a years-long saga between far-right commentator Alex Jones and the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
After decades of peddling conspiracy theories and misinformation, Infowars could be relaunched as a parody of itself in January.
The sale was ordered after relatives of many of the 20 children and six teachers killed in the 2012 shooting successfully sued Jones and his company.
The Onion's winning bid for Infowars is now under review by a federal bankruptcy judge after Jones and his lawyers complained about how an auction was conducted.
Here's what to know about Jones' misinformation empire and how it ended up on the auction block.
The rise of Infowars
Fresh out of high school in the early 90s, at a time when satanic panic was rife, a barrel-chested and gravelly-voiced Jones, began broadcasting on a public-access television channel in Texas.
From the start, he promoted conspiracies about the United States government and false claims about a secret New World Order.
In 1996, Jones made a leap to radio, hosting The Final Edition on KJFK.
Just three years later, he was fired for his controversial opinions.
By 1999, Jones had founded the website Infowars with his then-wife.
At first, it served as a mail-order outlet for fans to purchase conspiracy-oriented videos but ultimately evolved into a prominent fake news brand and the host site for his self-produced podcast, The Alex Jones Show.
And as the outlandish nature of his false claims grew, so too did his media empire.
Jones had just two employees and a tiny office in south Austin in 2004. That ballooned to more than 60 employees by 2010.
At his height, Jones was listened to via more than 100 radio stations across the US, as well as through the Infowars website and social media.
The Sandy Hook shooting
On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza stormed Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where he shot and killed 26 people.
Children aged between six and seven made up 20 of the victims and the other six were adult staff members.
As first responders arrived at the scene, the 20-year-old Lanza took his own life.
Earlier that day, he had killed his mother, Nancy Lanza.
In the years following the shooting, Jones repeatedly accused the Sandy Hook families of being "crisis actors", called the events a "giant hoax" and a "false flag" operation staged to build support for gun control, despite an overwhelming amount of verifiable evidence proving otherwise.
Jones accused the bereaved family members of being "as phony as a three-dollar bill", which led to fans harassing the families at their homes and online.
The lawsuits
After enduring several years of harassment, some of the Sandy Hook families sued Jones for defamation in Connecticut and Texas in 2018.
In the deposition of one of those cases, Jones admitted he knew allegations he made that the parents were acting were false.
In both states, judges issued default statements, finding Jones liable without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over evidence.
The courts awarded the families nearly $1.5 billion in damages.
But that came after years of Jones attempting to subvert proceedings through allegedly hiding assets and seemingly vexatious bankruptcy filings.
The asset protection
While the trials were still ongoing, some of the Sandy Hook families accused Jones of attempting to hide assets in shell companies to protect them from any damages payouts.
The lawsuit alleges Jones drew about $18 million from Infowars over three years, starting in 2018 when the defamation lawsuits against him were filed.
He is also accused of claiming a "dubious" $54 million debt to a company called PQPR LLC, which the lawsuit alleges is indirectly or directly owned by Jones and his parents.
The bankruptcy filings
Along with suing Jones and Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, the Sandy Hook families had added a group of smaller companies owned by Free Speech Systems to the lawsuit when filing.
In usual legal proceedings, doing so would minimise the defendant's ability to hide or divert assets.
But a bankruptcy filing automatically pauses ongoing litigation pending against the filer.
So in April, 2022, when three of those smaller companies owned by Jones filed for bankruptcy, legal proceedings in Texas ground to a halt.
At the time, Jones' lawyer, Norm Pattis, alluded to the bankruptcies being a way to frustrate proceedings further.
"We're turning to the bankruptcy courts to compel the plaintiffs to estimate the value of their claims in open court by discernible evidentiary standards," Pattis, told the Wall Street Journal at the time.
"The plaintiffs have turned this litigation into a macabre morality play and have refused to negotiate in good faith. We hope they will show respect to the federal courts."
But the apparent gambit failed when the Sandy Hook families dropped those companies from their lawsuit.
It wasn't the end of Jones' stint in the bankruptcy court, though.
In July 2022, he hit back by filing Free Speech Systems into Chapter 11.
Soon after he was ordered to pay the Sandy Hook families the $1.5 billion in damages, Jones gloated on-air that it "ain't gonna be happening".
"Ain't no money," he said.
In December that year, he also filed for personal bankruptcy.
The carve up
After months tied up in bankruptcy filings, a judge this year approved the liquidation of Free Speech Systems and approved its sale by auction.
Infowars was to be sold for parts to pay the billions he owed the Sandy Hook families.
Up for sale was everything from Jones' studio desk to Infowars' name, video archive, social media accounts and product trademarks.
Buyers could even purchase an armoured truck and video cameras.
Enter The Onion.
The satirical news outlet has for decades skewered politics and pop culture, including making Jones a frequent target of mocking articles.
In a move that took many by surprise, The Onion acquired Infowars' website, social media accounts, studio, trademarks and video archives.
Despite not making the highest offer, it managed to get the deal done with some help behind the scenes.
At a court hearing on Thursday afternoon, the trustee who oversaw the auction, Chris Murray, said the Sandy Hook families had agreed to forgo a portion of the sale proceeds to pay Jones' other creditors.
"We thought it would be a funny joke if we bought this thing; probably one of the best jokes we've ever told," Ben Collins, the CEO of The Onion's parent company, Global Tetrahedron said.
"The [Sandy Hook] families decided they would effectively join our bid, back our bid, to try and get us over the finish line.
"Because at the end of the day, it was us or Alex Jones — who could either continue this website unabated, basically unpunished for what he's done to these families over the years — or we could make a dumb, stupid website, and we decided to do the second thing."
What's next in court?
At a hastily called court hearing in Houston on Thursday, Judge Christopher Lopez ordered another hearing to be held next week.
He wants to know what happened with the auction and how the bankruptcy trustee chose The Onion over the only other bidder — a company affiliated with a Jones product-selling website.
A court hearing is typically held after a bankruptcy auction to finalise the winning bids and sales, and to hear any objections, so the process in Jones' case hasn't strayed far from the usual — yet.
Judge Lopez said he had concerns about the auction process and transparency. Both sides are expected to present evidence at next week's hearing.
Jones and a lawyer for First United American Companies allege Murray improperly selected The Onion's bid and unexpectedly changed the sale process on Monday after the sealed bids were submitted, by deciding not to hold a round of bidding on Wednesday. They also questioned the legality of The Onion's bid.
Murray denied doing anything improper and said he followed the judge's auction rules.
The judge would rule on whether the trustee properly ran the auction and selected The Onion as the winning bidder. If not, the possibilities include reopening the sale and holding an auction where potential buyers could outbid each other. The judge has the ultimate authority to accept or reject any sale of Infowars.
An exact date for the hearing had not yet been scheduled by Friday afternoon.
If the sale goes ahead, the Infowars website will be relaunched with satire aimed at conspiracy theorists and right-wing commentators.
And in a final jab at Jones' misinformation machine, its sponsor will be Everytown for Gun Safety, which promotes gun violence prevention.
ABC/AP
