In a trial filed Monday evening, Elon Musk’s X alleges that a Media Matters content moderation report maliciously frightened advertisers like Apple and IBM. Last week, media watchdog reported advertisements from major brands appeared alongside anti-Semitic content on the platform. But Musk may have scared off advertisers himself when the billionaire shared his controversial speech. thoughts on Jews last week.
The lawsuit alleges that Media Matters manipulated its reporting by following accounts at both ends of the extreme: following only white nationalist accounts and those of major brands. According to X, only two accounts out of 500 million users on the platform saw anti-Semitic content alongside Apple ads: Media Matters and another user. These internal numbers cannot be independently verified.
“This is a frivolous lawsuit designed to intimidate critics of X into silence,” Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said in a statement. “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.” »
Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony and even NBC Universal – X CEO Linda Yaccarino’s former company – have all done it. advertising removed by CEO stands with Musk, despite Tesla investors demand its suspensionand America’s highest office, the White House, condemning Musk’s “anti-Semitic and racist hatred.”
“When you are this consistent, there will be detractors and fabricated distractions, but we are steadfast in our mission. Thank you for standing with us,” Yaccarino said in a post on Monday evening.
Yaccarino told employees the Media Matters report was misleading and manipulated during an all-hands meeting immediately after the lawsuit was filed, according to Forbes. As for anti-Semitism on also highlighted the financial pressure on X at the moment, asking employees to “by all means, unite to bring new revenue to the company.”
X alleges that Media Matters produced its report “to tarnish X’s reputation by associating him with racist content.” But X is well known for hosting controversial content. Just last week, Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America,” an anti-Semitic letter explaining the al-Qaeda leader’s reasoning for the September 11 attacks, went viral on the platform. A tweet about the letter received more than 40 million views. From a business perspective, advertisers want to know that their promotions are not appearing alongside this type of content.
At this point, it’s unclear if Media Matters is reporting scared sponsors or if it was Musk himself. Last week, Tesla’s CEO endorsed a white supremacy conspiracy theory accusing Jewish groups of hate white people when their real enemies should be minorities and immigrants. Musk responded to the tweet by saying that the American Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, “cannot, on its own principles, criticize minority groups that are their main threat.»
+ There are no comments
Add yours