Media Matters, a social media platform, has been sued by X.
NBC News reported that Elon Musk, X, and Media Matters for America are suing each other over a report published by the progressive watchdog group which claimed Nazi content was found on the X App alongside advertisements for major corporations.
The Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced that he is investigating Media Matters in connection with possible fraud.
Paxton stated in a press release that Musk also posted to X.
Fraud has both civil & criminal penalties pic.twitter.com/BdC5Zfr1XM
Elon Musk (@elonmusk 21 November 2023
NBC News
Musk’s lawsuit represents a significant escalation in a battle involving his critics, X and its shaky relationship to advertisers. Musk sparked a firestormlast week when he posted comments on X embracing a conspiracies theory many consider antisemitic. Media Matters then published a report the following day stating that Nazi posts were running next to ads for Apple, IBM, and other companies.
In response to this report, many of these advertisers have paused spending on X. They include Comcast, NBCUniversal. Comcast owns NBCUniversal which is the parent of NBC News.
In the lawsuit, X claims that Media Matters portrayal of the application is false because its article does not reflect what users typically see.
The lawsuit states that “Media Matters knowingly, maliciously and intentionally manufactured side-byside images showing advertisers’ posts on X Corp. social media platform next to Neo-Nazis and white-nationalists fringe content. They then portrayed these images as if it were what typical X platform users experienced on the platform.”
More at NBC News:
Elon Musk’s company X has sued Media Matters for America for the report that said ads appeared alongside Nazi content. https://t.co/nHHDS3JPC3
— NBC News November 21, 2020
