• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, December 11, 2024

The world of satire took a hit on Tuesday when a federal bankruptcy court shot down The Onion’s planned purchase of Alex Jones’ right-wing site Infowars, saying the process lacked transparency.  

The sale, while well-intended, “did not maximize value in any way, based on the record before me.” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said in his Houston court, according to The Washington Post.  

Lopez added, “I don’t think it was enough money." Nor was a backup bid sufficient. 

Jones himself alleged that the sealed bidding in the November auction was “rigged.” 

While the price was not revealed, the winning bid had been approved by the families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims, who won a $1.4+ billion defamation lawsuit against Jones after he had charged the shooting was a hoax.

The families reportedly agreed to accept a smaller payout to increase the value of the Onion’s bid.

The purchase would have given the Onion -- a satirical publication based in Chicago -- possession of the website, mailing list and other assets that Jones had controlled for 25 years.

It's hard to see anything funny in all this. The question now is: What happens next? 

The Onion’s owner, Global Tetrahedron, might muster a higher bid. Or other contenders who are more friendly to Jones could attempt to take it over. Lopez said he does not want another complex auction process. 

This news comes only seven months after Global Tetrahedron acquired the Onion from G/O Media. 

The Onion planned to reintroduce Infowars as a parody of itself. The nonprofit group, Everytown for Gun Safety, would be the exclusive advertiser during the relaunch as part of a multi-year agreement, reports said.

Doesn’t editorial intent carry any value?