Elon Musk’s Company X Files Lawsuit Against Media Matters

Elon Musk’s social media company X has sued Media Matters for America over an investigative report recently published by the liberal-leaning watchdog. X claims that Media Matters’ report alleged that advertisements from major corporations ran alongside Nazi content on the platform.

The Media Matters report specifically mentions that ads from Apple and Oracle featured next to antisemitic material on X. The nonprofit further alleged that ads from major brands like Amazon, NBA Mexico, NBCUniversal and others appeared alongside white nationalist hashtags.

In a complaint filed in Texas, X argued that Media Matters “knowingly and maliciously manufactured side-by-side images depicting advertisers’ posts” with the intention of driving “advertisers from the platform” to “destroy” X.

Media Matters used accounts that bypassed “X’s ad filter for new users” to conduct its research for the report. It further contended the nonprofit “resorted to endlessly scrolling and refreshing its unrepresentative, hand-selected feed… until it finally received pages containing the result it wanted: controversial content next to X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts.”

After the report’s release, Apple, IBM, and Disney pulled their advertising from the site. In a post on X, the platform’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, blasted the Media Matters report, marking the latest blow to the Musk-run platform amid its ongoing efforts to win back big brands and their ad dollars, X’s main source of revenue.

Following the lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton planned to open “an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity,” specifically citing Musk’s allegations of “manipulating data.”

Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said the website would defend itself.

“This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence,” he said in a statement. “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.”