X sues Media Matters to silence moderation criticism

Nearly simultaneously, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into Media Matters for “potential fraudulent activity.” Musk posted nan news connected his X account, stating that “fraud has some civilian and criminal penalties.” Musk had antecedently responded to a tweet by erstwhile Trump advisor Stephen Miller that suggested blimpish attorneys wide (like Paxton) look into fraud charges.

Neither Paxton nor X argues that Media Matters was falsely claiming to spot ads connected pro-Nazi content. In fact, nan suit confirms that nan screenshots nan statement posted are real. But it alleges nan statement “manipulated” nan work to make X service nan offending ads. “Media Matters has manipulated nan algorithms governing nan personification acquisition connected X to bypass safeguards and create images of X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts adjacent to racist, incendiary content, leaving nan mendacious belief that these pairings are thing but what they really are: manufactured, inorganic, and extraordinarily rare.” The alleged manipulation progressive creating an relationship that exclusively followed a operation of awesome brands and extremist content, past “endlessly scrolling and refreshing its unrepresentative, hand-selected feed” until it saw a confluence of nan two.

The suit accuses Media Matters of interference pinch contract, business disparagement, and interference pinch prospective economical advantage — claims that could beryllium difficult to beryllium fixed nan First Amendment’s precocious barroom for legally prosecuting speech. (Musk famously beat a libel suit aft falsely dubbing 1 of his critics a “pedo guy.”) “We are going to proceed our activity undeterred. If he sues us, we will win,” nan organization’s president Angelo Carusone told The Verge successful a erstwhile statement, saying that “Elon Musk has spent nan past fewer days making meritless ineligible threats, elevating bizarre conspiracy theories, and lobbing vicious individual attacks against his ‘enemies’ online.” Carusone reiterated nan sentiment aft nan suit was filed. “This is simply a frivolous suit meant to bully X’s critics into silence,” he said. “Media Matters stands down its reporting and looks guardant to winning successful court.”

As 1 of nan world’s richest men, however, Musk has tremendous resources astatine his disposal — and X seems to beryllium doing immoderate forum shopping to boost its odds. The institution revenge its suit successful Texas, which is neither its nor Media Matters’ superior spot of business. As legal blogger Ken White noted, a Texas filing protects X from claims that it revenge a strategical suit against nationalist information (or SLAPP), thing it mightiness look successful its location guidelines of California. Another statement that X sued, nan Center for Countering Digital Hate, precocious deed backmost pinch an anti-SLAPP motion successful that state. Moving nan suit besides puts it nether the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has proven highly sympathetic to blimpish figures who declare they’ve been censored — thing Musk has made a centerpiece of his publicity strategy astir X.

Yaccarino, meanwhile, has insisted that advertisers aren’t permanently pulling backmost their X presence. “Some advertisers whitethorn person temporarily paused but I do want to spell connected record, I had respective really bully conversations today,” she told labor astatine an all-hands aft nan lawsuit, according to Fortune. But she suggested labor “be arsenic fiscally responsible arsenic possible” to offset imaginable losses from advertisers and exhorted them to “by each means, put your heads together to bring caller gross into nan company.”

Update 9:15PM ET: Added connection from Media Matters.