Elon Musk announced in a blog post on Saturday on the social media platform that X Corp., previously known as Twitter, might pursue legal action against Media Matters and those involved in the app’s attacks. This came shortly after several major U.S. companies ceased advertising on the platform.
Without explicitly naming other parties, Musk stated in a blog on X, “The moment the court opens on Monday, Media Matters and all parties involved in this unfounded attack on our company will face lawsuits of unprecedented magnitude.”
Media Matters for America, a progressive media monitoring organization, recently uncovered instances of racist content being juxtaposed with advertisements from prominent companies such as IBM, Apple, Oracle, and Comcast’s Xfinity.
Following revelations that their ads were being displayed alongside content promoting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, IBM announced on Thursday that it was suspending all advertising on X, which is owned by Musk.
Lions Gate Entertainment, Paramount Global, Warner Bros Discovery, Comcast, and Disney joined in on Friday by pausing their advertising on X. Politico also reported that Apple had taken similar action.
Musk drew criticism on Wednesday for endorsing a racially charged post on X that falsely claimed Jews were encouraging animosity towards white individuals.
In response to what it deemed a misrepresentation of the platform’s actual environment, Media Matters for America published a report this week aimed at distorting the truth about X.
To manipulate advertisers regarding the placement of their content, Media Matters “introduced an additional layer of complexity by curating posts and advertisements that appear on users’ timelines.”
Media Matters did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of business hours.
Civil rights groups have noted a significant rise in hate speech on X since Musk acquired the platform in October 2022 and implemented looser content moderation policies.
The White House condemned Elon Musk’s endorsement of a “repugnant” racist conspiracy theory on X, labeling it as “a despicable campaign of racist and bigoted animosity” that contradicts American values.
In response to Musk’s actions following the assault on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on October 7, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates remarked, “It is morally wrong to perpetuate such heinous… one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru, editing by Tomasz Janowski, and Kirsten Donovan.
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles guide our work.
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