Elon Musk’s platform, X (formerly Twitter), has filed a lawsuit against watchdog group Media Matters, alleging the fabrication of a report that showcased advertisers’ posts alongside extremist content. Major US companies, including Disney, Warner Bros, and Comcast, withdrew advertising from X due to concerns about ads appearing next to hate speech. Musk’s own controversial posts, including an endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory, added to the tensions. X claims Media Matters manipulated algorithms to create misleading images, portraying advertisers’ posts next to racist and pro-Nazi content. Media Matters defends its reporting, calling the lawsuit a bullying tactic to silence critics.
Musk faced backlash for endorsing a post that falsely claimed Jewish people were fostering animosity against white individuals, expressing agreement with the user’s reference to the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory and stating it as “the actual truth.” The White House strongly condemned Musk’s remarks, labeling them as an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate” that contradicts fundamental American values.
Following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, advertisers have been abandoning the social media platform due to both Musk’s contentious posts and the layoffs of content moderation employees. The platform has experienced a significant decline in US ad revenue, plummeting by at least 57% each month compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, as reported by Reuters news agency.