INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Elon Musk's company X, known previously as Twitter, has initiated legal action against the liberal advocacy group Media Matters for
The lawsuit, filed on Monday, accuses Media Matters of fabricating a report that purportedly showed advertisements from various companies
appearing alongside neo-Nazi and white nationalist content on the platform
The aim, according to the lawsuit, was to deter advertisers and harm X Corp.The site, under Musk's ownership, has seen a decline in
advertisers, partly due to concerns about their ads being displayed next to pro-Nazi content and other forms of hate speech.Musk himself had
pledged to hit the watchdog group with a "thermonuclear lawsuit".Musk has been a controversial figure, especially after endorsing an
antisemitic conspiracy theory through his posts.Texas attorney general Ken Paxton announced on Monday that his office would investigate
Media Matters, expressing serious concerns over the allegations of data manipulation on X.Major companies like IBM, NBCUniversal, and
Comcast have withdrawn their advertising from X following the Media Matters report, which highlighted their ads appearing next to content
This development represents a significant challenge for X as it seeks to attract major brands and their advertising revenue, a crucial
income source for the platform.The report by Media Matters also mentioned ads from Apple and Oracle being placed near antisemitic material
Additionally, it identified ads from Amazon, NBA Mexico, NBCUniversal, and others appearing next to white nationalist hashtags.In its
lawsuit filed in Fort Worth, Texas, X alleges that Media Matters deliberately and maliciously misrepresented the situation, making it seem
as though ads routinely appear next to hateful content, which X claims is not the typical user experience
The complaint accuses Media Matters of manipulating algorithms to create misleading images of major advertisers' posts next to racist and
inflammatory content, falsely suggesting such pairings are common.Media Matters, headquartered in Washington, DC, has not immediately
However, its president, Angelo Carusone, previously criticized Musk for making baseless legal threats and promoting conspiracy
theories.Advertiser confidence in X has been shaky since Musk took over the platform
Musk himself has been embroiled in controversy, particularly after responding affirmatively to a user's antisemitic remarks and showing
indifference to antisemitism.X's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, emphasized the company's stance against discrimination, stating that it should be
She expressed this view on the platform, advocating for a consensus on the issue.Since Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter in October 2022
for $44 billion, the platform has seen a significant exodus of advertisers
This departure is attributed to concerns over Musk's controversial posts and the reduction of staff responsible for content
moderation.Reuters has reported a substantial decline in the platform's US advertising revenue, with a decrease of at least 55%
year-over-year each month following Musk's takeover.(With inputs from agencies)
