A federal judge has rejected Media Matters’ attempt to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against them by Elon Musk’s social media platform, X.
District Court Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that X’s lawsuit, alleging Media Matters deliberately manufactured evidence to show advertisers’ posts alongside hateful content, is valid and will proceed to trial.
X claims that Media Matters’ report, which highlighted instances of ads appearing beside neo-Nazi and white nationalist content, caused major advertisers like Apple, Disney, and IBM to pull their ads from the platform, leading to significant financial losses.
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The company is seeking an injunction to remove the article and damages for the alleged harm caused by Media Matters’ actions.
Media Matters, a left-wing watchdog group, has called the lawsuit “frivolous” and maintains that it is an attempt to silence critics. The group’s president, Angelo Carusone, has reiterated that the lawsuit is meant to intimidate those who speak out against X.
The trial is scheduled to begin on April 7, 2025, and is expected to shed further light on the ongoing tension between X and its critics regarding content moderation and the platform’s impact on advertisers.
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