Elon Musk’s company, X, filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, accusing the liberal media-pressure group of creating false posts that depicted major companies’ ads next to Nazi content in order to harm X’s business.
The lawsuit alleges that Media Matters intentionally manipulated its account to produce images showing ads from Apple, IBM, and Xfinity appearing next to pro-Nazi content on X’s platform.
X claims that Media Matters limited the users it followed and manipulated the platform’s algorithm, resulting in major brands’ content appearing alongside hateful materials on X.
According to X, Media Matters’ strategy was designed to drive advertisers away from the platform and damage the company.
As a result of Media Matters’ report, Comcast, NBCUniversal, Apple, IBM, Sony, and Paramount withdrew their ads from the platform.
In response to Media Matters’ original report, X stated that while it supports free speech, it has safeguards in place to prevent major advertisers’ material from being placed alongside hateful content.
According to X, Media Matters intentionally broke the platform’s safeguards, and most of the pairings were not seen by genuine users of the platform.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas.
Additionally, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraud under a state deceptive practices law.
Media Matters, established in 2004, serves as a liberal watchdog on news outlets.
Elon Musk’s ownership of X has made the company a target for Media Matters.
