In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk's X Corporation has thrown a wrench into the sale of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' website, InfoWars, and related assets to satirical publication The Onion. A federal judge has temporarily halted the deal, and Musk's platform is now objecting to the transfer of InfoWars' social media accounts, citing ownership rights.

According to a filing in bankruptcy court, X Corporation claims that it owns all X accounts on its platform, including those operated by Alex Jones and InfoWars. This means that The Onion cannot purchase these accounts from Jones or his company, Free Speech Systems, as they are not his to sell. Musk's lawyers argue that users don't actually own their profiles on the platform, but rather have a license to use the services.

This is not the first time Musk has stepped in to defend Jones' social media presence. In 2023, Musk restored the X accounts of Alex Jones and InfoWars, which were previously "permanently banned" by Twitter's leadership in 2018 due to abusive content. Musk claimed he disagreed with Jones but wanted to restore his accounts in the name of "free speech".

The legal filing clearly states that X Corp does not object to the overall sale of Free Speech Systems to The Onion, but purely the X accounts in question, including @infowars, @BANNEDdotVIDEO, @WarRoomShow, and @RealAlexJones. X Corporation's terms of service do indeed say that it is giving all users a "license" to use their X accounts, but users cannot sell or transfer this license without X's explicit consent.

Jones declared bankruptcy after being ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to the families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. He was ordered to pay damages for defamation after repeatedly spreading lies that the 2012 shooting, which killed 20 first graders and six educators, was a hoax staged by actors to increase gun control.

Federal bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez has said that he may hold an evidentiary hearing next month to determine whether The Onion should be allowed to purchase Alex Jones' media company. Ultimately, Lopez could allow The Onion to move forward with the purchase, order a new auction, or name another bidder as the winner.

The implications of this legal battle are far-reaching, with significant consequences for the future of social media ownership and free speech. As the case unfolds, it will be interesting to see how the court rules on the ownership of social media accounts and the limits of "free speech" on private platforms.