X claims ownership of Infowars accounts

X, the social platform owned by Elon Musk, is getting involved in the pending bankruptcy sale of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars to the satirical newspaper The Onion.

In an objection filed Monday, X said its terms of service (TOS) prevent Jones’s X accounts from being sold off without the company’s approval. The platform does not oppose the other aspects of the sale.

Musk has developed an increasingly close relationship with President-elect Trump, having donated millions to Musk's own pro-Trump super PAC and appeared on the campaign trail. After the election, Trump named Musk to co-head a new "Department of Government Efficiency," and he has been a frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago.

“The Trustee now seeks to contravene X Corp.’s TOS by improperly selling or otherwise transferring the X Accounts (which neither Jones nor his bankruptcy estate own) to a third party,” X wrote in Monday's objection.

“While X Corp. takes no position as to the sale of any Content posted on the X Accounts, X Corp. is the sole owner of the Services being sold as part of the sale of the X Accounts.”

Jones and his company filed for bankruptcy protection after the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims sued Jones for defamation over his false claims the shooting was a hoax, winning $1.5 billion from him.

Jones's assets are now being liquidated, including Infowars, his right-wing conspiracy website.

The bankruptcy judge is weighing whether to approve the trustee's selection of The Onion as the winning bid in an auction of Infowars assets. The judge said Monday he would hold a hearing next month to consider the sale.

First United American Companies (FUAC), which runs a nutrition supplement site in Jones’s name and submitted the only other bid, is objecting to the sale and claims improper collusion took place.

“You'll hear the evidence; you don't have to believe me,” Kyle Kimpler, an attorney representing the Sandy Hook families, told the judge at Monday’s hearing. “It’s a fun conspiracy theory. Nothing more."

FUAC bid $3.5 million, while The Onion’s offer only amounted to $1.75 million in cash. But the Sandy Hook families agreed to forgo a portion of their distributions under the latter offer, meaning Jones’s other creditors would receive more.

The trustee has insisted his selection of that bid as the best one was within his sound business judgment. He called the objection “a disappointed bidder’s improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process.”

“We'll have an evidentiary hearing where parties will be able to put forth their case, and we'll see where it goes. I don't want to prejudge it,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said at Monday’s hearing.