No—not through the 2024 bankruptcy auction. The Onion was selected as the winning bidder for Infowars-related assets, but a bankruptcy judge rejected the sale in December 2024. A later effort to use Infowars intellectual property through a Texas receiver was a separate proposal. Associated Press reporting through August 22, 2026, described The Onion’s effort to take control as ongoing, not completed.
Why the headline can be misleading
Winning an auction does not, by itself, transfer ownership. In a bankruptcy sale, the trustee may select a bid, but the court can still reject the proposed sale. That is what happened here: The Onion’s selection in 2024 did not make it the owner of Infowars assets.
There is also a distinction between buying assets and obtaining a license to use intellectual property. The Onion’s later proposal involved a temporary license arranged through a court-appointed Texas receiver, not a revived version of the rejected bankruptcy auction.
Two different deal paths
| Issue | 2024 bankruptcy auction | 2026 receiver proposal |
|---|---|---|
| Legal mechanism | Proposed sale of Infowars-related assets through a bankruptcy auction. | Proposed temporary license to use Infowars intellectual property. |
| Process and decision-makers | A bankruptcy trustee selected a bid; a federal bankruptcy judge had to consider the sale. | A court-appointed Texas receiver was working toward liquidation of Free Speech Systems’ assets, with the licensing arrangement subject to Texas court proceedings. |
| Status in the cited reporting | Judge Christopher Lopez rejected the sale in December 2024. | AP reported on April 30, 2026, that a Texas appellate court had temporarily blocked an asset transfer before a scheduled hearing on the arrangement. Reporting through August 22 described The Onion’s takeover effort as ongoing. |
| What it would cover | The assets offered in the bankruptcy auction. | Temporary use of intellectual property; the reporting does not establish a completed transfer of ownership. |
What happened in the 2024 bankruptcy auction
In November 2024, the bankruptcy trustee selected The Onion after considering two bids. The competing offer came from Jones-affiliated First United American Companies, which bid $3.5 million in cash, according to AP’s 2024 reporting. The Onion offered less cash, but Sandy Hook families who were judgment creditors supported its bid and were willing to forgo some proceeds so that money could go to other creditors.
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The distinction mattered because the bids were not simply competing cash prices: the proposed allocation of proceeds among creditors was part of the dispute. In December, Judge Lopez rejected the auction sale, criticizing flaws in the bidding process and questioning how much the families would receive. The proposed transaction therefore did not close.
Why The Onion tried a different route
In 2026, The Onion pursued a temporary license to use Infowars intellectual property while a Texas receiver worked toward liquidating assets of Free Speech Systems, Infowars’ parent company. This was a separate legal route from the federal bankruptcy auction. On April 30, AP reported that a Texas appellate court temporarily blocked an asset transfer, disrupting a scheduled hearing on whether to approve the arrangement.
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The Onion’s CEO, Ben Collins, characterized the delay as “newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling” that delayed the proposed deal with the receiver. That was Collins’s description of the dispute, not a court finding. The available reporting does not establish that the licensing arrangement was approved or that control transferred.
What the later court and business updates do—and do not—show
Parody launch and planned donation
In July 2026, The Onion launched an Infowars parody on its own website. AP reported that the company planned to send $100,000 from merchandise sales to Sandy Hook families. That was a reported plan; the cited coverage does not verify that the payment was made. The parody’s launch also did not establish that The Onion had acquired Infowars.
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In August 2026, AP reported that the Texas Third Court of Appeals reduced a $50 million damages award to about $6 million. The same report said a separate $1.25 billion Connecticut judgment remained in place. Those figures concern damages judgments, not the ownership or transfer of Infowars assets.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this means for creditors and readers
For creditors, the practical issue in a proposed asset sale is not only who offers the most cash. The structure of a bid can affect which creditors receive proceeds and how much they receive. Here, the families’ willingness to forgo some proceeds was part of the rationale for The Onion’s selection, while the bankruptcy judge’s concerns about the process and the families’ expected recovery contributed to rejecting the sale.
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For readers trying to understand the status, keep three questions separate: Was The Onion selected in an auction? Yes. Did the bankruptcy court approve that sale? No. Did the later receiver proposal complete a transfer? AP’s reporting through August 22, 2026, described an ongoing effort, not a completed takeover. Because court and receiver proceedings can change, that last status is bounded by the date of the latest directly relevant reporting cited here.
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