Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against Media Matters this afternoon in response to the media watchdog’s scathing exposé, alleging that Xitter was pairing ads with antisemitic and white supremacist content, triggering a mass advertiser exodus, reports Deadline. Among the brands that fled the network was Apple, which was estimated to have spent $100 million a year on advertising on the platform. Antisemites and white supremacists on Xitter cheered the lawsuit.
Musk’s lawsuit, filed in Texas, seeks to stop Media Matters from making claims that Xitter places corporate ads next to extremist content. The lawsuit argues that Media Matters wrongly accused Xitter of pairing ads with hateful content, saying these instances were rare and misrepresented.
Musk proclaimed, “Many of the largest advertisers are the greatest oppressors of your right to free speech,” vowing to dismantle Media Matters’ “fraudulent attack on our company.” This salvo followed a string of other Musk-related controversies, including a White House condemnation over an antisemitic retweet and a SpaceX mishap.
Media Matters President Angelo Carusone countered Musk’s threats by saying, “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.”
From Deadline:
The erratic Musk has previously threatened legal action against other critics over the years but didn’t follow through. In September, when the Anti-Defamation League sharply criticized X/Twitter for increasing antisemitic and other hate speech, Musk promised to sue – but never did. The South African billionaire blamed ADL for an advertising decline of 60% on the social media platform he bought for over $44 billion last year.
