Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said that his office will investigate the nonprofit for ‘potential fraudulent activity.’
Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a lawsuit against left-wing watchdog group Media Matters for defamation on Nov. 20.
Global brands such as IBM, Comcast, and others began to pull advertising from X after a Media Matters report published on Nov. 16 claimed that ads for major brands appeared next to posts touting Nazism on the platform.
Over the weekend, Elon Musk, owner of X, threatened to file a “thermonuclear” lawsuit against Media Matters “and all those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company.”
On Nov. 20, Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino said that “not a single authentic user on X” saw IBM, Comcast, or Oracle ads next to the content that Media Matters reported.
“If you know me, you know I’m committed to truth and fairness. Here’s the truth,” Ms. Yaccarino wrote in a post on X.
If you know me, you know I'm committed to truth and fairness. Here's the truth. Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) November 20, 2023
“Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters. Data wins over manipulation or allegations. Don’t be manipulated. Stand with X.”
In a company statement, X previously noted that in another case, another brand mentioned in the report had an ad served adjacent to two posts that were seen by “one user, the author of the Media Matters article.”
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Texas, asks the court to order Media Matters to “immediately delete, take down, or otherwise remove” the article and requests unspecified monetary damages.
In statements last week, a number of global companies confirmed that they were pausing ads on X, including IBM, Comcast/NBCUniversal, Lions Gate Entertainment, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney. Following its report, Media Matters published a list of companies joining the boycott.
The Media Matters article, sharing screenshots, reported that its researchers “found ads for Apple, Bravo, Oracle, Xfinity, and IBM next to posts that tout Hitler and his Nazi Party on X.”
An X executive previously told The Epoch Times that the platform isn’t “intentionally placing a brand actively next to this type of content, nor is a brand actively trying to support this type of content with an ad placement.”
Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com
