X Corp, formerly Twitter, will sue Media Matters and others who attacked it, Elon Musk said after major US companies paused ads on the site. “The moment court opens on Monday, X Corp will file a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and all who colluded in this attack on our company,” Musk wrote without naming other parties. Liberal media watchdog Media Matters found ads by IBM, Apple, Oracle, and Comcast’s Xfinity alongside antisemitic content. IBM immediately suspended advertising on X after the watchdog found its ads next to content promoting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Paramount Global also paused their ads on X. Musk endorsed an antisemitic post claiming the Jewish community stoked hatred against white people. “This week Media Matters misrepresented the experience on X to undermine freedom of speech and mislead advertisers,” a statement by Musk said. Media Matters did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of business hours.
Rise in hate speech Advertisers fled the site after Musk bought it in October 2022 and reduced content moderation, leading to a surge in hate speech, according to civil rights groups. The White House condemned Musk’s endorsement of what it called a “hideous” antisemitic conspiracy theory on X, accusing him of an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate” that “runs against our core values as Americans.” “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie…one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said, referring to the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Israel.
