As my colleague Bonchie reported Saturday, Elon Musk said that he would be filing a "thermonuclear lawsuit" against Media Matters alleging that they defamed the X platform after they published a report that said ads for major brands appeared next to posts praising Nazism.
That resulted in major companies including IBM and Comcast pulling ads from the platform.
But now Musk has followed through, filing the lawsuit on Monday, claiming that Media Matters had falsely portrayed X as a risky, unsafe platform for advertisers and that they had been targeting X for some time.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Fort Worth Division, alleges Media Matters' actions were "manipulative and deceptive."
- X alleged that Media Matters "exploited" the platform have ads appear this way, which included "excessive scrolling" and curating its feed with "fringe" content.
- "The overall effect on advertisers and users was to create the false, misleading perception that these types of pairings were common, widespread, and alarming," the lawsuit reads.
Journalist Michael Shellenberger said he tried to replicate what Media Matters allegedly said they did to get the results, but he wasn't able to. Musk termed the organization "evil."
It's shameful that Media Matters has gone after X and Musk.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino blasted them.
"Here's the truth. Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM's, Comcast's, or Oracle's ads next to the content in Media Matters' article. Only 2 users saw Apple's ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters. Data wins over manipulation or allegations. Don't be manipulated. Stand with X."
But now justice may be riding to the rescue. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that he has now launched an investigation into the matter.
“The Office of the Attorney General ("OAG") is opening an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity,” the letter said.“We are examining the issue closely to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square,” Attorney General Paxton said.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey also said he would be looking into the matter in response to a discussion between Musk and former Trump advisor Stephen Miller in which Miller said it could allegedly be a civil and criminal violation.
So it looks like if Media Matters was hoping to bring trouble to or shut down X, that may have backfired, and they may be facing a bit of trouble themselves.