Musk's "thermonuclear" lawsuit. Elon accuses Media Matters of 'targeted campaign' that drives advertisers away X

As Musk has threatened since Friday, X is suing media watchdog group Media Matters over its research showing ads on the social network appear next to anti-Semitic content.

Musk promised a “thermonuclear lawsuit” to everyone who refused to advertise on X (due to anti-Semitism)

In its complaint, X alleged that Media Matters “knowingly and maliciously produced images depicting advertisers’ posts on X Corp.’s social media platform.” along with neo-Nazi and white-national fringe content,” and also added “manipulated images” as if they represented a typical user experience on the platform, Engadget reports.

Media Matters developed both these images and a corresponding media strategy to drive advertisers off the platform and destroy X Corp.

– from a company statement.

According to X Corp’s investigation, Media Matters used an account that was more than 30 days old to bypass ad filters and follow a group of users known as producers of “extreme, fringe content” as well as the largest advertisers on the platform. The group then continued to scroll and refresh their feed to generate “13 to 15 times more ads per hour than the average user X views.” X said the watchdog did not provide any context regarding the “coercive, inauthentic nature of the advertising he saw.”

Fraud has both civil & criminal penalties pic.twitter.com/BdC5Zfr1XM

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2023

In addition to X’s lawsuit, Media Matters must also contend with an investigation by Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general. Paxton said his office is reviewing Media Matters, which he called a “radical anti-free speech organization,” for possible fraud. He is conducting an investigation to “ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations that would like nothing more than to restrict freedom by reducing participation in public events.” It’s as if Musk specifically selected such a person.

Media Matters published its findings after X owner Elon Musk responded to a tweet that said Jews were fueling “the white hatred they claim they want people to stop using against them.” Musk wrote: “You told the absolute truth.” Following this, several prominent advertisers withdrew their campaigns from the platform, such as IBM, Apple, Disney, Paramount and Comcast. And Lionsgate specifically cited Elon’s tweet as the reason for withdrawing its ad.