Elon Musk fuming over The Onion’s “very funny joke”


Infowars and Alex Jones’s other X accounts aren’t for sale, says Elon Musk’s platform after The Onion bids on the bankrupt conspiracy theorist’s media empire.

On December 14th, 2012, 20 year old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people during a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The tragic event prompted many conversations and debates about gun control in the US and many took the mass shooting seriously.

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However, there were some who had their own theories about the Sandy Hook massacre and some even claimed that the shooting was staged.

One of the most notable figures that claimed the shooting was a hoax was infamous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Yet, his theory backfired after families affected by the shooting successfully sued Jones for defamation in which he now owes more than $1 billion.

The defamation lawsuit forced Jones into bankruptcy, meaning his assets are set to be liquidated and his company, Free Speech Systems, is up for auction.

But who would bid on such a company?

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Well, the satirical media outlet The Onion would, and they did in what they’ve called a “very funny joke.”

The Onion won the bid in which they’re entitled to the media company's intellectual property, which includes a range of assets including the Infowars website and its social media accounts.

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However, the process hasn’t gone off without a hitch, as a Texas bankruptcy judge has put the bid on hold.

Which has given just enough time for Elon Musk to enter the chat and protest the sale of Jones’s X accounts.

According to a court filing, X objects to the sale, assignment, or transfer of the Infowars X account and other accounts associated with Alex Jones and Free Speech Systems.

Jones’s Infowars X account has over 638,000 followers.

This is because accounts on X are “governed by the X Terms of Service, which supposedly means that X users don’t actually own their accounts as they are X’s “exclusive property.”

X also claims that accounts can’t be transferred or bought by third parties.

Therefore (according to Musk’s platform), The Onion can’t purchase these accounts because they are not owned by Jones or his bankrupt estate.

“X Corp. is compelled to file this objection to make clear that X Corp. does not consent to the sale or any other transfer of the non-assignable X Accounts, which, in turn, means the X Accounts cannot be sold or transferred at this time,” the filing reads.

The document says that X simply grants account holders a license to use its services. Therefore, each X account is owned solely by X, the company states.

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