Who will buy Infowars? Both supporters and opponents of Alex Jones interested in bankruptcy auction

Dave Collins
| Associated Press

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars broadcasts could end next week as he faces a court-ordered auction of his company’s assets to help pay the more than $1 billion defamation judgment he owes families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting .

Or maybe not.

Both opponents and supporters of the bombastic Internet show and radio host have expressed interest in bidding on the Infowars properties he has built over the past 25 years. They include Roger Stone, an ally of Jones and Donald Trump, and anti-Jones progressive media groups. If Jones’ supporters buy the assets, he may end up staying at Infowars.

Up for sale is everything from Jones’ studio desk to Infowar’s name, video archive, social media accounts and product branding. Buyers can even purchase an armored truck and video cameras. Currently, Jones’ personal social media accounts, including his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, with 3 million followers, are not for sale, but court proceedings on whether to auction them are ongoing.

The auctions were the result of Jones’ personal bankruptcy case, which he filed in late 2022 after Sandy Hook families were awarded nearly $1.5 billion in damages in lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas over his claims that the school shooting was a hoax. Many of Jones’ personal assets are also being liquidated to help pay the judgment.

The deadline to submit bids and non-disclosure agreements on Infowar’s assets is Friday afternoon. After the bids are reviewed, potential buyers deemed qualified will be invited to a live auction that could see multiple rounds of bidding next Wednesday. Any unsold items will be put up for another auction on December 10th.

Jones has expressed confidence that backers — whom he did not name — will buy the assets of Infowars and its parent company, Free Speech Systems, allowing him to continue using its platforms. He also seems to be preparing to lose the brand as he has created new websites and social media accounts and has directed his audience to them.

“There are a lot of buyers, people who are patriots who want it and come in,” Jones said on his show in August. “If not … we’re going to work with someone else, fire something up. And it’s going to be a little bit of a hiccup for the crew and stuff. But it’s just going to make us bigger.”

Emails to Infowars and Jones’ bankruptcy attorney were not returned.

It is not clear how much money the auctions may bring in. In court filings, Free Speech Systems listed the total value of its properties and holdings at $18 million. Proceeds from the sale will go to creditors including the Sandy Hook families, who have yet to receive any money from Jones and his company.

Nondisclosure agreements and sealed bids are generally used at auctions to maximize bid amounts while preventing bidders from talking to each other and driving down bids. The trustee in Jones’ bankruptcy case said in court filings that the procedures for the Infowars auction were designed to attract the highest possible bids.

Christopher Mattei, a Connecticut attorney representing the Sandy Hook families, called the auctions an important milestone in their year-long fight to hold Jones accountable. He also said the families will seek a share of all of Jones’ future earnings.

“From the beginning, Connecticut families have sought to hold Jones fully accountable for his lies and protect other families from him,” Mattei said. “Depriving Jones of the corrupt business he used to attack the families while poisoning the minds of his listeners is an important measure of justice.”

The families sued Jones and his company for defamation and emotional distress because they repeatedly said on his show that the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six teachers in Newtown, Conn., was a hoax staged by crisis actors to spur more gun control.

Parents and children of many of the victims testified that they were traumatized by Jones’ scam conspiracies and threats from his followers.

Jones, who has since admitted to the shooting, is appealing the verdicts.

Jones has earned millions of dollars from his internet and radio shows, primarily through the sale of supplements, survival gear, clothing and other merchandise.

Stone, a Jones and Trump ally and a conservative commentator, said on his X account and on Jones’ show that he would like to put together a group of investors to buy Infowars. He did not return emails and social media messages Thursday.

“I understand the importance of Infowars as a beacon of truth, as a beacon of truthful information. And so I would like to do everything I can to make sure, if possible, that Infowars survives,” Stone said on Jones’ show in September.

People on social media have also called on billionaire Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and X, to buy Infowars, an idea that Jones has supported but Musk has not publicly responded to.

On the other hand, Jones’ detractors have shown interest in buying Infowars, firing Jones and turning it into something else, such as a news site that debunks conspiracy theories or even a parody site. They include officials at two progressive media sites, The Barbed Wire and Media Matters for America.

An opinion piece by The Barbed Wire in September by publisher Jeff Rotkoff had a headline that read: “Let’s Buy Infowars. Alex Jones used these exact materials to exploit his viewers, peddle conspiracy theories and damage the lives of grieving parents. We want revenge.”

Rotkoff urged readers to donate money to help place bids, but he said Thursday that The Barbed Wire, based in Jones’ home state of Texas, is now unlikely to make any bids.

“However, we have spoken with a number of similarly ideologically aligned bidders and we are confident that we will be outbid,” Rotkoff said in an email. “We are pleased that there appear to be several well-resourced bidders who share our interest in fixing much of the damage to our country that Alex Jones has done. We will strive to make these people successful.”

He declined to say who the other potential bidders were.

Exactly who has submitted bids so far has not been revealed. Jeff Tanenbaum, president of ThreeSixty Asset Advisors, which is helping run the auction along with Tranzon Asset Advisors, would only say that there has been a high volume of inquiries.

If detractors buy up Infowar’s properties and Jones gets off the ground, he should be able to build new platforms fairly quickly, said Melissa Zimdars, associate professor of communications and media at Merrimack College in Massachusetts.

“As long as there is an audience hungry for his content — and there is — he will be able to use X and various social media platforms,” she said in an email.

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Who will buy Infowars? Both supporters and opponents of Alex Jones interested in bankruptcy auction

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