The Onion was named the winning bidder for Infowars in a November auction, but Jones and First American United Companies, the Jones-affiliated company, had argued the sale process was tainted because The Onion received too much credit for having the support of families who won court verdicts against Jones.
Jones declared bankruptcy in 2022 and was forced to liquidate his assets to pay $1.3bn (R23.2bn) in legal judgments to the families of 20 students and six staff members who were fatally shot in the [2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School](https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times-daily/world/2022-02-16-us-gunmakers-face-being-sued-for-school-massacres-after-r11bn-deal/) in Newtown, Connecticut.
Courts in Connecticut and Texas have ruled Jones defamed the families by making repeated false claims that the mass shooting was staged as part of a government plot to take guns away from Americans.
The Onion has said it plans to relaunch Infowars in 2025 as a parody site filled with “noticeably less hateful misinformation” than before.
Jones' attorney Ben Broocks told Lopez at a hearing on Monday The Onion put up half as much cash as the $3.5m (R62.5m) offer from First American United Companies, but boosted its bid with “smoke and mirrors” calculations.
The Connecticut-based Sandy Hook families, who are Jones' largest creditors, augmented The Onion's bid by agreeing to forgo some repayment from the Infowars sale so other creditors could receive more money.
Christopher Murray, a court appointee trustee charged with selling Jones' assets, testified on Tuesday that the auction was fair, and First American United Companies only complained about the process after learning its bid was not chosen.
**Reuters**