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This Thanksgiving, Elon Musk gave a gift to all families who are politically split by going after one of the OG things that conservatives love to hate on: the media. Musk is suing nonprofit organization Media Matters for defamation after the company released a report stating that X was running ads next to pro-Nazi content. This report contributed to a mass advertiser exodus last week. We all know that our favorite former bird app has become a cesspool of alt-right and general right-wing douchebags. This includes its new(ish) owner who also got himself in trouble last week for reposting anti-Semitic rhetoric. Turns out that even big companies can’t find a financial justification to ignore being associated with Nazis. As predicted, Elno didn’t like being called out on his sh-t, so he took his ball and went to court.
”Manipulative and deceptive”: The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Fort Worth Division, alleged the organization’s tactics were manipulative and deceptive.
X alleged that Media Matters “exploited” the platform to have ads appear this way, which included “excessive scrolling” and curating its feed with “fringe” content. “The overall effect on advertisers and users was to create the false, misleading perception that these types of pairings were common, widespread, and alarming,” the lawsuit reads.
X’s Alternative Facts: X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who has received messages from marketing leaders pushing for her to resign, defended the company in a statement on Monday.
“If you know me, you know I’m committed to truth and fairness,” she posted. “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 Matters. Data wins over manipulation or allegations. Don’t be manipulated. Stand with X.”
Corrupt AG gets in on the action: Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Monday that he is “opening an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity,” noting Musk’s accusation of the organization “manipulating data” on X.
A “frivolous lawsuit”: “This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence. Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court,” Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said in a statement on Monday night.
Carusone said over the weekend in response to Musk’s threat to sue that far from “the free speech advocate he claims to be, Musk is a bully who threatens meritless lawsuits in an attempt to silence reporting that he even confirmed is accurate.”
Yes, but: Advertisers are not just concerned with brand safety on the platform. Musk backing an antisemitic conspiracy theory last week also drew ire from marketing chiefs. Musk denounced claims that he is antisemitic in a post on X on Sunday. Yaccarino has not acknowledged those concerns in her public remarks or in her recent memo to X employees.
You know what they say: F around and find out. Or, in Apartheid Clyde’s case, F around, lose a buttload of money, lock yourself in your office to cry, and then call in that shameless lawyer you have on retainer. I know we (I) generally joke that we’re in the dumbest timeline, but at some point, the dumbest timeline becomes a dangerous one. It was only a matter of time before Space Karen sued someone for calling the platform out for what it’s become. I’d say he got lucky that it was a media company that did so, but let’s be honest here: the Federalist Society has been itching to have an excuse to legitimize hate speech in the name of “free” speech. Like I said, the dumbest timeline has become a dangerous one.
Photos credit: Getty and screenshot from YouTube/Joe Rogan show
Apartheid Clyde is such a perfect name for this man baby. I pray the finding out phase of this is epic
+1. He’s a douche.
So typical— “dont say my platform is bad for opinions, or I’ll SUE YOU for expressing your opinion!”
Like hello
The right is so hypocritical. ‘I am all about free speech, and youre not allowed to say anything about it.’
LOL 🎯
At this point, if you’re still advertising on Twitter, you get what you deserve IMO. Nobody should have needed the MM study to know they were advertising alongside garbage.
Even my very non-political innocent hobbies/fandoms are not fun to follow on Twitter anymore.
So many people come by to hate and fight. You can tweet about liking a certain apple best and someone will shout at you about conspiracy theories and how ‘leftards’ destroy the world.
Note they did not dispute that pro-Nazi stuff is all over Twitter right now. Only that certain ads didn’t match up timewise.
I dumped my Twitter account when I found out that the red-pill-boy cut off Ukrainians from Starlink in a crucial phase of the war, meaning they were unable to return fire on RuSSian destroyers in the Black Sea. His recent antisemitism confirmed that was the best thing to do.
Musk is a seriously disturbed, creepy little guy. He has so many narcissistic traits he’s like a Chinese Communist Party flag parade. He’s unoriginal, he’s not particularly bright, he piggybacks off other people’s inventions and ideas and profits from them, he’s ruinous to the climate, he has incredible delusions of grandeur – like he can put up a poll on Twitter and decide the fate of Ukraine? Does he remind anyone else of Trump? Another average, mediocre, self-entitled, brash, braggy little sh1t who keeps breeding more offspring while denying them any stability or security, who thinks because he has money he should control the fate of current and future generations?
I want to see him fall hard. He’s turned the bird site into a cesspool of unbelievable aggression and hatred. The kind of hate and threats I got for being politically left completely bewildered me, and I had to lose meaningful friendships when I closed my account – but it was horrible for my mental health. He doesn’t do anything to push back against illegal content. He encourages fringe theories and conspiracist lunatics to run riot. He’s Andrew Tate with more money. Sorry for the rant, but I really want to see him crash and burn.
I logged off for good and discontinued my account the day his sale was finalized.
Same. I miss the old twitter so much, and can’t find anything to replace it.
@Mimi I’m with you. I started looking for alternatives the day they said the sale would go through. The day it finalized, I downloaded all my data and haven’t been back since. I should go back just to delete my account, honestly. I’m on Spoutible now, but all my ‘friends’ on old Twitter have scattered to multiple different apps, so it’s not the same.
Good for you.
No point in supporting that hate site anymore
🎯
Ok, “Don’t be manipulated. Stand with X,” is hilarious. Both social media algorithms and advertising are all about manipulation. So, is she asking people to take sides between X and IBM, like X is some tiny David going up against corporate Goliaths? Ludicrous.
Bottom of the barrel scum he is.
Manipulator says, “Don’t be manipulated. Stand with X.” 😂
Two things I’m getting from this. Musk and a lot of other conservatives are really starting to realize they are a minority in this country. I think they really believed everyone thought the same as them. And also. I know a lot of the doubling down from Musk is because of his ego. But I also wonder if this isn’t really cutting into his fortune enough he’s worried about it. He bought twitter with stock from Tesla. Which is pretty much going to make him a small minority owner in the company. Plus when twitter goes down it’s going to take Tesla with it. So how much money does Musk have hidden away really.
“[E]xcessive scrolling”? Isn’t that what he WANTS us to do, on twitter?
Anyway, I echo other commenters, here: I hope he falls, hard.