The satirical news publication The Onion has encountered another legal obstacle in its attempt to acquire the Infowars brand from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
A Texas appeals court has approved Jones’s petition to temporarily halt the transaction that would have permitted The Onion to obtain licensing rights to the Infowars name and transform the controversial program into a satirical version of itself.
The acquisition deal was part of efforts to satisfy financial judgments against Jones related to his false claims about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The Onion had planned to completely reimagine the Infowars platform as a parody that would mock conspiracy theories rather than promote them.
This latest legal challenge represents another setback for The Onion’s unconventional bid to purchase and rebrand one of America’s most notorious conspiracy theory platforms. The appeals court’s decision means the satirical publication must wait longer before potentially taking control of the Infowars brand and executing its plans to turn the show into a mockery of its former self.
