David vs. Goliath. Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed. The Onion and Tim Heidecker vs. InfoWars and the Texas court system.
It’s an underdog story we all know. Our hero, the preeminent satirical newspaper, The Onion, embarked on a mission in 2024 to take over the alt-right conspiracy bullhorn InfoWars after its founder, Alex “Turn the Freaking Frogs Gay” Jones, lost everything in a $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit from the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. Jones called false flag on the tragedy for years and paid the price, and now, after a hard-fought legal back and forth, The Onion will operate InfoWars as an inclusive, internet-forward comedy platform with the goals of nurturing young talent and generating cash for the Sandy Hook families in place of the $1.4 billion Jones will never pay. The new InfoWars hits screens everywhere on July 2, and Onion CEO Ben Collins and InfoWars creative director Heidecker will finally breathe easy knowing their years-long mission to seek justice through comedy is finally accomplished.
But that’s not quite the end of this tale. Thanks to a snag in a Texas appeals court, The Onion technically isn’t allowed to operate as InfoWars. After the initial 2024 bid for InfoWars was rejected in bankruptcy court, Collins reached a licensing deal with the appointed manager, Gregory Milligan, to license the site and its affiliated properties. But hours before the agreement was set to go through, a Texas appeals court approved Jones’ appeal to halt the ruling, effectively putting the whole thing on pause until a lower court can make a new order.
