Elon Musk sues media watchdog for report on anti-Semitic content on X that led to exodus of advertisers

It seems that Elon Musk’s trouble with X just refuses to die. Musk has filed a defamation lawsuit against media watchdog group Media Matters, for a report it did on the rise of anti-Semitic content. In the report from last week that led to the lawsuit, Media Matters allege that ads for major brands appeared alongside posts promoting Nazism on the platform. Since the report’s publication, X has faced increasing public outcry, prompting major advertisers such as IBM, Apple and Comcast to withdraw their ads from the platform. Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, took to social media on Saturday, announcing X’s intention to file a “thermonuclear” lawsuit against Media Matters and other entities involved in what Musk termed a “fraudulent attack” on the company. The controversy surrounding X has been ongoing since Musk’s acquisition, with a stream of advertisers leaving the platform due to concerns over Musk’s controversial posts and the layoffs of content moderation employees. X’s Chief Executive, Linda Yaccarino, addressed employees in a note on Sunday, acknowledging that some advertisers had paused their investments following the Media Matters report. However, Yaccarino emphasized the company’s commitment to combating antisemitism and discrimination, disputing the claims made in the report. In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Media Matters President Angelo Carusone countered X’s statements, asserting that the nonprofit’s findings contradicted X’s claims of implementing safety measures to prevent ads from appearing next to harmful content. Carusone cited instances of ads appearing alongside white nationalist content, challenging X’s assertion that its system was effectively blocking such occurrences. The legal dispute between X and Media Matters adds another layer of complexity to the challenges faced by the social media platform under Musk’s leadership, as it grapples with both content moderation concerns and the fallout from the recent report.