Judge blocks sale of Alex Jones' Infowars to satire outlet The Onion

A federal judge in Texas rejected the auction sale of Alex Jones' Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet, criticising the bidding for the conspiracy theory platform as flawed as well as how much money families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting stood to receive.

The decision overnight is a victory for Jones, whose Infowars site was put up for sale as part of his bankruptcy case in the wake of the nearly US$1.5 billion ($AUD 2.35 billion) that courts have ordered him to pay over falsely calling one of the deadliest school shootings in US history a hoax. Families of the Sandy Hook victims had backed The Onion's bid.

Following a two-day hearing in Houston, US bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez said he would not approve the sale, while citing concerns about transparency in the auction. That clears the way for Jones to keep — at least for now — Infowars, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The Onion had planned to kick Jones out and relaunch Infowars in January as a parody.