Elon Musk opposes transferring the InfoWars X account to The Onion, citing concerns about the platform’s principles and user trust
The satirical Onion won a bankruptcy auction last month to buy InfoWars and other assets from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones
However, the sale is currently in a state of limbo due to a temporary halt in the transaction by a federal magistrate.
On Monday, Elon Musk added an additional obstacle to the process by objecting to the transfer of InfoWars’ X accounts to its new proprietors.
According to an objection submitted to bankruptcy court on Monday, X Corporation asserts that it owns all X accounts on its platform, including those operated by InfoWars and Alex Jones.
Consequently, Elon Musk’s platform contends that The Onion is unable to acquire these accounts from Jones or his company, Free Speech Systems, as they are not his to sell.
Musk has previously intervened to defend Jones’ social media presence. In 2023, Elon Musk reinstated the X accounts of InfoWars and Alex Jones.
After the previous leadership of Twitter discovered that the posts of these accounts contained abusive content that contravened the platform’s policies, they were “permanently banned” in 2018.
Musk stated that he disagreed with Jones at the time, but he wished to reinstate his accounts in the name of “free speech.”
Musk’s attorneys are currently asserting that users do not possess their profiles on the purported “free speech platform.”
“A wrongful transfer of the license to use X Corp.’s Services would result from the’sale’ of the X Accounts as the Trustee requests.”
“The attorneys representing X in the filing have stated that such a sale would clearly violate the TOS and the ownership rights of X Corp.”
“In other words, the Trustee is attempting to sell an item that is not owned by it, Free Speech Systems, or Jones, and in which they have no legal interest.”
This legal filing explicitly indicates that X Corp does not object to the general sale of Free Speech Systems to The Onion but rather to the X accounts. The accounts mentioned in the case are @infowars, @BANNEDdotVIDEO, @WarRoomShow, and @RealAlexJones.
Musk’s social media platform asserts that its conditions of service explicitly stipulate that these accounts are the “exclusive property” of X Corporation.
The company does, in fact, state in Section 4 that it is providing all users with a “license” to use their X accounts. Nevertheless, users are prohibited from transferring or selling this license without X’s explicit consent.
After being ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to the families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Jones declared bankruptcy.
Following his repeated dissemination of false information that the 2012 shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 20 first graders and six educators, was a fabrication orchestrated by actors to bolster gun control, he was compelled to pay damages for defamation.
As Musk continues to oppose the transfer of these X accounts, federal bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez announced on Monday that he may conduct an evidentiary hearing next month to ascertain whether The Onion should be permitted to acquire Alex Jones’ media company.
In the end, Lopez has the option to permit The Onion to proceed with the acquisition, conduct a new auction, or designate an alternative bidder as the victor.
