Media Matters Responds To Elon Musk Lawsuit Threat

Elon Musk lashed out at a media watchdog and threatened a "thermonuclear lawsuit" against it last week after brands paused spending on X (formerly Twitter). Now, the media watchdog has responded to Musk's lawsuit threat.

Watchdog group Media Matters for America previously claimed that corporate advertisements for big tech companies like IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast's Xfinity were being placed next to antisemitic content on X.

IBM stopped advertising on X citing the Media Matters report, which indicated the company's ads were shown next to pro-Nazi posts. Aside from this, Disney and Apple suspended their advertising on the platform.

The 52-year-old tech mogul came under fire for calling an antisemitic conspiracy theory the "actual truth". Several X users accused him of promoting anti-Semitism.

Responding to the departure of advertisers from X, Musk shared a post in which he said: "Many of the largest advertisers are the greatest oppressors of your right to free speech."

In a separate post, Musk noted that X Corp will be filing a "thermonuclear lawsuit" against Media Matters and everyone else involved in this "fraudulent" attack on the company.

Musk comes under fire for agreeing with an antisemitic post

Responding to Musk's threat, Media Matters said Musk is far from the free speech advocate he claims to be and branded him "a bully".

Furthermore, Media Matters accused Musk of threatening meritless lawsuits to stop reporting what he confirmed is accurate.

"Musk admitted the ads at issue ran alongside the pro-Nazi content we identified. If he does sue us, we will win," Media Matters said in its statement.

In one example, an ad for Apple's Mac computers was shown alongside a post that claimed Hitler and the Nazis represented a "spiritual awakening".

Musk has also been catching flak for promoting antisemitism over his response to an X user who was promoting the "great replacement" conspiracy theory on the social media platform.

The X user said the Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of "dialectical hatred" against whites that they want people to stop using against them.

This theory was one of the hateful ideas promoted by the gunman who killed eleven people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 in one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in US history.

Musk replied to the X post, writing: "You have said the actual truth". Shortly after Musk backed an antisemitic post, a source at Apple told Axios that the company had paused advertising on X.

Likewise, a Lions Gate Entertainment spokesperson confirmed that the entertainment company will be following in the footsteps of IBM and Apple and suspend all ads on X.

To recap, Musk also threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) back in September. He blamed the civil rights advocacy group for "trying to kill this platform" with accusations of antisemitism.

In an X post, Musk said he is pro free speech, but against antisemitism of any kind. However, The White House accused him of enabling the "abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate".