The federal suit, filed in Texas, comes on the heels of a Media Matters report that outlined how X — the platform formerly known as Twitter, which Musk now owns — placed advertising next to hateful content.
It also comes as Musk himself is under fire for agreeing with an antisemitic post on the platform.
The Media Matters report sparked an exodus of advertisers from X, with Musk’s lawsuit marking just the latest controversy during his chaotic time steering one of the internet’s most prominent information platforms, our colleague Dominick Mastrangelo reported.
The report, published last week, pointed to ads from major companies who have long marketed themselves on the platform, including Apple, IBM and Oracle.
The watchdog provided screenshots from searches on X and said it had also found advertisements from Amazon, NBA Mexico, NBCUniversal and others next to white nationalist and other hateful hashtags.
After the Media Matters report was published, leading companies such as IBM and NBCUniversal — and its parent company, Comcast — said they stopped advertising on X once they learned their ads were appearing alongside material supporting Nazis.
Other blue-chip companies, such as Apple, signaled a pause following Musk’s own rhetoric on X.
Musk responded to the onslaught of criticism and advertiser boycotts by labeling the Media Matters report a “fraudulent attack” on his company and threatening to sue the watchdog.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
