A lawsuit filed by X (formerly Twitter) against Media Matters will proceed in Texas, with a trial set for April 2025. Media Matters had sought to have the case dismissed, but Judge Reed O’Connor denied the motion on Thursday, stating that X “has properly pled its claims.”
The lawsuit, initiated by Elon Musk in 2023, alleges that Media Matters fabricated screenshots in their reporting, falsely showing ads from major advertisers on X appearing next to extremist and neo-Nazi content. Musk reacted to the judge’s decision with a post on X, simply saying, “LFG!!” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski also commented, stating, “Absolutely huge news! Media Matters days are numbered.”
X’s lawsuit claims that Media Matters’ report was an “ideologically driven crusade” against the platform following Musk’s takeover. According to X, the report led to a significant loss of advertising revenue, as it allegedly misrepresented the platform as a place where extremist content thrived. X argues that Media Matters did this “in an effort to publicly portray X as a social media platform dominated by neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism, and thereby alienate major advertisers, publishers, and users away from the X platform, intending to harm it.”
Media Matters requested the Texas court dismiss the lawsuit, citing “lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, and failure to state a claim,” according to Newsweek. Two Media Matters staffers, including the organization’s president, Angelo Carusone, are named in the lawsuit.
Following the lawsuit’s filing, Carusone and Media Matters laid off about a dozen employees. Carusone told Newsweek that the organization would “need to be extremely intentional about how we allocate resources in order to stay effective.”
Additionally, Media Matters is facing scrutiny from Missouri and Texas Attorneys General Andrew Bailey and Ken Paxton, who have launched investigations into allegations of data manipulation for ideological purposes. Bailey’s investigation is moving forward, despite Media Matters’ efforts to have it blocked.