If you have been following the news this week, you already know that something extraordinary just happened. On April 20, 2026 — just two days ago — one of the most infamous media properties in the history of the internet changed hands in one of the most unusual deals American media has ever seen. Infowars, the conspiracy theory platform that Alex Jones built into a media empire, is now in the process of being handed over to The Onion — America’s most celebrated satirical news organization. It is a story so strange that it sounds like a headline The Onion would have written itself.
But to understand who owns Infowars today, you first have to understand how it got here — through defamation lawsuits, bankruptcy courts, Sandy Hook families, and nearly two years of legal chaos that finally produced one of the most remarkable media transfers in recent memory.
What Is Infowars?
Infowars was created in 1999 by American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Founded by Jones with his then-wife Kelly, it was originally a mail-order outlet for the conspiracy-oriented videos produced by the Joneses. Infowars features The Alex Jones Show on its broadcasts and was established as a public-access television program aired in Austin, Texas, in 1999.
Over the next two decades, Infowars grew into one of the most visited and most controversial media platforms in America — promoting conspiracy theories about 9/11, Sandy Hook, COVID-19, and dozens of other topics. Its revenue came primarily from selling supplements, survival gear, and branded merchandise pitched directly by Jones during his broadcasts.
Infowars, and in particular Jones, has advocated numerous conspiracy theories, particularly around purported domestic false flag operations by the U.S. government. It is classified as a conspiracy propagandist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Who Owns Infowars Right Now in 2026?
This is the question everyone is asking — and the answer as of April 2026 is genuinely in transition.
Legally, Infowars is currently under the control of a court-appointed receiver — a legal administrator named Gregory Milligan — who was assigned by a Texas state court to manage and liquidate the Infowars assets to pay the Sandy Hook families what they are owed. Alex Jones no longer controls the platform.
And on April 20, 2026, The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron — owned by former Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson — announced a licensing deal with that court-appointed receiver to take over Infowars.
Under the terms of the agreement, The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, would pay $81,000 per month to license the infowars.com domain name and associated intellectual property including its name. The deal would run for six months with an option to renew for another six months. The agreement must be approved by a judge before it takes effect.
Collins said the company has also signed a deal to purchase the full assets once the current judicial stay expires.
So in plain terms: The Onion / Global Tetrahedron is the incoming owner of Infowars, pending final court approval. Alex Jones is out.
Ownership Timeline and Key Stakeholders Table
| Party | Role | Status | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Jones | Original Founder & Former Owner | Lost control — court-ordered liquidation | Founded Infowars 1999; ordered to pay ~$1.5B to Sandy Hook families |
| Free Speech Systems (FSS) | Infowars Parent Company | No longer in active bankruptcy | Jones’ corporate entity that operated Infowars |
| Gregory Milligan | Court-Appointed Receiver | Currently overseeing assets | Texas state court administrator managing Infowars liquidation |
| Global Tetrahedron LLC | Incoming Licensee / Buyer | Deal announced April 20, 2026 — pending court approval | Parent company of The Onion; owned by Jeff Lawson |
| Jeff Lawson | Owner of Global Tetrahedron / The Onion | Active | Former Twilio co-founder and CEO; bought The Onion in April 2024 |
| The Onion | Incoming Operator of Infowars | Pending court approval | Will relaunch Infowars as a satire and comedy platform |
| Sandy Hook Families | Judgment Creditors | Active claimants | Are owed ~$1.5B in damages; supported The Onion deal |
| Tim Heidecker | Incoming Creative Director | Announced April 20, 2026 | Comedian and TV personality named to lead new Infowars content |
The Sandy Hook Lawsuits: How Alex Jones Lost Everything
The story of how Alex Jones lost Infowars begins on December 14, 2012, when a gunman killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In the years that followed, Jones repeatedly and falsely claimed on Infowars that the shooting was a hoax staged by the government, and that the grieving parents were paid “crisis actors.”
The families of the victims filed defamation lawsuits against Jones. They won. In 2022, courts in Texas and Connecticut found Jones liable and ordered him to pay a combined total of nearly $1.5 billion in damages — one of the largest defamation judgments in American history.
Jones was found liable for defamation in 2022 after repeatedly claiming on-air that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, in which six adults and 20 children were killed, was a “hoax.” He has yet to pay a single cent of the more than $1 billion in damages he owes the families. As a result, Jones’ assets went up for sale.
Facing these massive judgments, Jones filed for bankruptcy — first personally, and then through Free Speech Systems (FSS), the parent company of Infowars. The bankruptcy proceedings became a years-long legal battle, with Jones repeatedly attempting to block the sale of his media assets.
The Onion’s Long Road to Infowars
The story of how The Onion came to own Infowars is almost as extraordinary as the reason Infowars was up for sale in the first place.
The saga has been years in the making, with Chicago-based Global Tetrahedron, LLC — owned by former Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson — making an offer to purchase Infowars from Jones in 2024. The offer came in the wake of Jones filing for bankruptcy following nearly $1.5 billion in cumulative damages against him in several lawsuits from the parents of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
In November 2024, The Onion gleefully revealed its winning bankruptcy-auction bid for Infowars. But a Texas bankruptcy judge in December 2024 rejected The Onion’s cash bid of $1.75 million to acquire the Infowars assets, saying the auction process lacked clarity and that the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims deserved more money.
After the federal bankruptcy case ended, the Sandy Hook families took their case to state court. On August 13, 2025, a state judge ordered all of the website’s physical and intellectual property to be turned over to a court-appointed receiver for liquidation to pay the families.
That cleared the path for the new licensing deal — and on April 20, 2026, The Onion announced it had finally secured an agreement with the court-appointed receiver to take over Infowars.
What Will The New Infowars Look Like?
The transformation of Infowars from conspiracy theory hub to satire platform is one of the stranger chapters in American media history.
The new Infowars will operate as a digital platform and comedy network led by “creative director” Tim Heidecker of “Tim & Eric” fame, who will parody Jones himself. The outlet will aim to feature newer, independent comedians who “don’t have a mountain to climb in the comedy world.”
There will be plenty of The Onion’s signature style of news satire, with much of the initial content parodying social media influencers and media figures like Jones who peddle questionable supplements.
The site plans to replace the “o” in “Infowars” with The Onion’s logo. The Onion could take over the site as soon as May 1, Jones said.
The deal was developed with the active support of the Sandy Hook families. “The Sandy Hook families took on Alex Jones to stop him from inflicting the same harm on others. For years, he used his corrupt business platform to torment and harass them for profit,” said Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families. “When Infowars finally goes dark, the machinery of lies that Jones built will become a force for social good.”
The Onion has also committed to sharing merchandise profits with the Sandy Hook families as part of the arrangement.
Who Is Jeff Lawson? The Man Behind The Onion and Now Infowars
The person whose money is ultimately behind this remarkable deal is Jeff Lawson — a New York-based tech entrepreneur who co-founded Twilio, a cloud communications company, and served as its CEO for many years before stepping down.
In April 2024, New York-based G/O Media sold The Onion to Jeff Lawson, co-founder and former CEO of Twilio and a longtime fan of the satire site. Lawson hired Collins, a former NBC News reporter covering disinformation, extremism, and the internet, to run the company.
Lawson bought The Onion because he believed in its mission as a satirical institution. He then backed The Onion’s pursuit of Infowars — a bid that, on the surface, seems absurd but is deeply strategic: turning Alex Jones’ platform against the very model of misinformation it was built on.
What About Alex Jones?
Alex Jones is not going quietly. Jones already is vowing to challenge the new deal, accusing The Onion of trying to “steal and misrepresent” his identity and profit from it. Jones called The Onion “body snatchers” on his show and said he was looking into legal action to block the acquisition.
But his legal options are extremely limited. The Texas state court has already ordered his assets liquidated. A judge rejected his attempt to throw out the Sandy Hook defamation judgment. And the court-appointed receiver — not Jones — now controls the Infowars assets.
Even if Jones loses control of Infowars, he could continue to broadcast from another studio, under another name. But Infowars.com, the brand, the domain, the studio, and the intellectual property — all of that is headed to The Onion, pending final court approval from Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of the Travis County District Court in Texas.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns Infowars in 2026?
As of April 20, 2026, The Onion’s parent company Global Tetrahedron LLC has a licensing deal to take over Infowars, pending Texas court approval.
Q2. Does Alex Jones still own Infowars?
No. Alex Jones lost control of Infowars after a Texas state judge ordered his assets liquidated in August 2025 to pay the Sandy Hook families.
Q3. Who is the owner of Global Tetrahedron and The Onion?
Global Tetrahedron LLC is owned by Jeff Lawson, co-founder and former CEO of Twilio, who purchased The Onion in April 2024.
Q4. Why is Infowars being sold?
Alex Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages to Sandy Hook families after courts found him liable for defaming them by falsely calling the 2012 shooting a hoax.
Q5. What will The Onion do with Infowars?
The Onion plans to relaunch Infowars as a satire and comedy platform, with comedian Tim Heidecker as creative director and a focus on parodying misinformation media.
Q6. How much is The Onion paying for Infowars?
Under the current deal, Global Tetrahedron will pay $81,000 per month to license the infowars.com domain and associated intellectual property.
Q7. When will The Onion take over Infowars?
The Onion could take control as early as May 1, 2026, once a Texas court approves the licensing deal.
Q8. Will the Sandy Hook families receive money from the Infowars deal?
Yes. The Onion has committed to sharing merchandise profits with the Sandy Hook families as part of the agreement.
Infowars was founded by Alex Jones in 1999 and spent more than two decades as one of the most visited — and most dangerous — conspiracy theory platforms on the internet. It all came crashing down because of a series of defamation lawsuits filed by Sandy Hook families, resulting in a nearly $1.5 billion judgment that Jones has not paid and cannot escape.
As of April 20, 2026, The Onion — owned by Global Tetrahedron LLC, which is owned by former Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson — has a licensing deal to take over Infowars and turn it into a satire and comedy platform. The deal is pending approval from a Texas state court judge and is expected to take effect as early as May 1, 2026. Alex Jones is fighting it — but he is fighting it without his platform, without his company, and without the legal standing to stop it.
It is, in every sense, the end of an era.