Elon Musk is coming out swinging against Media Matters after they began targeting advertisers on his “X” platform, which was formally known as Twitter.
Brands including Apple, Comcast, Disney, IBM, and many other household names pulled ads from X in recent days after a November 16 Media Matters report claimed that their ads were being displayed “next to posts touring Naziism.” But as is the case with anything coming out of Media Matters, their allegations were entirely fictitious.
According to the Epoch Times:
On Monday, 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.
"Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters," she added. "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.
The lawsuit alleges that Media Matters “knowingly and maliciously” manufactured images to falsely show ads appearing where they did not with the intention of misleading advertisers, and in turn, hurting X by reducing their ad revenue.
X has over 500 million active users per month, and is facilitating free speech and discourse by enabling its users to share their own content and comment and message on others’ posts. Occasionally, a user feed will have paid ads, which are the overwhelming source of income for X. pic.twitter.com/QM1PrBNAEP
— Tracy Beanz (@tracybeanz) November 21, 2023
Just this month MMFA have released over 20 articles disparaging Musk and X - and it appears that they are using the scoring method of the WEF…. (Note to self… look more into this..) Photo 2. pic.twitter.com/kDPxucu9RT
— Tracy Beanz (@tracybeanz) November 21, 2023
Exonerated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is also turning up the heat on Media Matters, and announced that he would be opening an investigation into the far-left watchdog for “potential fraudulent activity,” citing Musk’s allegations.
🚨 Today I opened an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity after X CEO Elon Musk accused the left-wing media watchdog group of manipulating data on the social media platform. https://t.co/oL1UPNXzeo
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 21, 2023
The only post on Media Matters’ X feed appearing to reference the lawsuit is from the company’s President and CEO Angelo Carusone, who posted a link asking people to donate to Media Matters (lol).
In unearthed blog posts from 2005, Carusone authored a series of blog posts where he decried “jewry” - among others racially charged comments.
Matt Palumbo is the author of Fact-Checking the Fact-Checkers: How the Left Hijacked and Weaponized the Fact-Checking Industry and The Man Behind the Curtain: Inside the Secret Network of George Soros
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