Musk, Ads Displayed Next to Nazi Content? ... Counter Lawsuit Filed

X Claims "Media Organizations Slander X"
Demand for Compensation and Immediate Deletion of Report
Media Organizations Counterclaim "X Neglects Harmful Content
Prevention System Not Functioning"

Social networking service X (formerly Twitter) filed a lawsuit against the media watchdog group 'Media Matters' on the 20th (local time), Bloomberg reported on the 21st. It is analyzed that this retaliation came as advertisers accelerated their withdrawal after the media group released a report claiming that X was neglecting harmful posts.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla

On the previous day, X submitted a complaint to the Texas federal court against Media Matters, criticizing them for "strategizing to drive advertisers away from the X platform and destroy X." According to Bloomberg, the complaint filed by X urged Media Matters to immediately delete the defamatory report against X and to take monetary compensation actions.

Earlier, the progressive media watchdog group Media Matters announced on the 17th through a report that they confirmed advertisements from companies such as IBM and Apple were placed next to Nazi-related content on the X platform. After the report was released, major companies including IBM, Apple, Disney, Comcast, and Paramount Global decided to suspend advertising on X.

Following the report's release, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, warned the next day through his X account, "When the court opens on Monday, I will file a bombshell lawsuit against 'Media Matters' and everyone who conspired in this fraudulent attack." He continued, "Media Matters released a report that completely misrepresents the actual experience on X as another attempt to undermine freedom of the press and mislead advertisers," expressing his anger by calling Media Matters "true evil."

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, also sent a memo to employees on the 19th, explaining that the advertising suspension by some advertisers was due to "misleading and manipulated articles" and stated, "The data will tell the truth." She further claimed, "All of us working at X have made very clear efforts to fight against anti-Semitism and discrimination."

However, Media Matters strongly refuted X's claim that it operates a system to prevent harmful content. X had explained that it activated its own safety measures to prevent ads from being placed next to harmful content after the advertising stopped due to this incident. Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters, said in an interview with major foreign media on the same day, "If you search for white nationalist content on X, ads overflow," adding, "The system they talk about does not work that way."

In fact, before Media Matters' report was released, on the 15th, Musk had commented "You spoke the truth" on a post related to an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory' claiming that the Jewish community incites white hatred on X, which drew strong criticism.

When reports emerged that X filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, Carusone responded by calling it a "frivolous lawsuit to silence critics of X" and took a counter stance.

The Texas judicial authorities decided to start an investigation on the 20th regarding suspicions that Media Matters manipulated X's data. Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, stated in a press release that day, "There are suspicions that Media Matters, a radical group opposed to freedom of expression, manipulated X's data," adding, "We are closely investigating this matter so that the public is not deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing groups trying to restrict freedom."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.