Elon Musk’s X sues Media Matters over antisemitism analysis
Microblogging platform, X formerly known as Twitter is suing Media Matters after they accused X of allowing antisemitic posts next to advertising.
Advertisements for major brands, including Amazon (AMZN) and IBM (IBM), had been placed alongside posts on X that supported white nationalism and Nazism, the progressive media watchdog revealed.
These allegations have led to a high-profile advertiser exodus, as several major companies have paused their ads on X, including Apple (AAPL), IBM, and Disney (DIS), which strikes at the heart of X’s business and highlights the ongoing challenges around brand safety and content moderation that have defined the platform under Musk’s ownership.
Filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, X’s lawsuit alleges that Media Matters for America “manipulated” data in an attempt to “destroy” the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Media Matters has manipulated the algorithms governing the user experience on X to bypass safeguards and create images of X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts adjacent to racist, incendiary content, leaving the false impression that these pairings are anything but what they actually are: manufactured, inorganic and extraordinarily rare,” X wrote in the complaint.
The lawsuit also alleges that Media Matters distorted how real users experience ads on the platform to ultimately damage X’s reputation with advertisers.
The lawsuit, filed in Texas on Monday, argues: “Media Matters knowingly and maliciously manufactured side-by-side images depicting advertisers’ posts on X Corp’s social media platform beside Neo-Nazi and white-nationalist fringe content and then portrayed these manufactured images as if they were what typical X users experience on the platform.
“Media Matters designed both these images and its resulting media strategy to drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp.”
After Mr Musk threatened the lawsuit, Media Matters called him a bully. Media Matters president, Angelo Carusone is also confident that they would win any legal action.
“Far from the free speech advocate he claims to be, Musk is a bully who threatens meritless lawsuits in an attempt to silence reporting that he even confirmed is accurate,” Mr Carusone said in a statement.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Monday that he would investigate Media Matters over “potential fraudulent activity.” Missouri’s Attorney General also posted on X that his office would look into the matter.
In similar news, Elon Musk has announced that ‘all revenue from advertising & subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza’ will be donated to hospitals in Israel and the Red Cross in Gaza.
