X sues Media Matters to silence moderation criticism

Almost simultaneously, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into Media Questions for “potential fraudulent activity”. Musk posted the news on his X account, stating that “fraud carries civil and criminal penalties”. Musk previously responded to a tweet from former Trump adviser Stephen Miller who suggested conservative attorneys general (like Paxton) look into fraud charges.

Neither Paxton nor Media Questions falsely claimed to see ads for pro-Nazi content. In fact, the lawsuit confirms that the screenshots posted by the organization are real. But it alleges that the organization “manipulated” the service so that “Media Questions manipulated the algorithms governing the user experience on They really are: manufactured, inorganic and extraordinarily rare. The alleged manipulation involved creating an account that exclusively followed a combination of big brands and extremist content, then “endlessly scrolling and refreshing its unrepresentative, hand-curated feed” until he notes a confluence of the two.

The lawsuit accuses Media Questions interference with contract, trade disparagement and interference with potential economic advantage – claims that could be difficult to prove given the First Amendment’s high bar for prosecution. (Musk won a defamation suit after falsely calling one of its critics a “pedophile.”) The organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The edge, but President Angelo Carusone previously said that “Elon Musk has spent the past few days making baseless legal threats, conjuring up bizarre conspiracy theories, and launching vicious personal attacks against his online ‘enemies’.” in a press release. “We will continue our work without being discouraged. If he sues us, we will win.

However, as one of the richest men in the world, Musk has enormous resources at his disposal – and X appears to be forum shopping to increase his chances. The company filed a lawsuit in Texas, which is neither its own nor Media matters main place of activity. As legal blogger Ken White noted, a Texas filing protects origin, California. Another organization sued by X, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, recently fought back by launching an anti-SLAPP motion in the state. Moving the trial also puts it before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been very sympathetic to conservative figures who claim to have been censored – something Musk has made a centerpiece of his publicity strategy around x.

Yaccarino, meanwhile, insisted that advertisers are not permanently withdrawing their presence on very good conversations today,” she told employees after the trial, according to Fortune. But she suggested employees “be as financially responsible as possible” to offset potential losses from advertisers and urged them to “by all means, come together to bring new revenue into the business.”