Christiaan Hetzner
Tue, November 21, 2023
Media Matters for America, a nonprofit watchdog best known for targeting Fox News, disputed Elon Musk’s claims in a lawsuit that it used a bad-faith campaign to maliciously scare away major advertisers from X, and reserves the right to countersue the tycoon.
Speaking to Fortune, the organization’s chairman and president refuted Musk's allegations that MMFA manipulated and gamed the platform’s algorithm to manufacture a set of results showing that X was unsafe for brands by featuring its ads next to neo-Nazi content. In response, IBM led a wave of prominent advertiser defections and the White House issued a rare, full-throated criticism of Musk's conduct.
“We didn’t cherry-pick our data,” Angelo Carusone said in an interview, claiming any search of the hashtag #WhiteNationalism on X would yield similar results. “The filters they say they have are not working the way they say they should.”
Now the MMFA chair is weighing up his legal options in response, including whether to fight back against Musk's team of lawyers. Carusone, who calls the lawsuit filed on Monday "frivolous," said his organization would reserve all legal options to defend itself. He said this could include potentially countersuing Musk for attempting to shut down protected speech, in what’s known in legal terms as an anti-SLAPP lawsuit.
X is not the only social media site to feature unsafe content, Carusone readily concedes, but it is the outlier when it comes to lacking some of the very basic guardrails for content moderation.
“Elon Musk has gutted the brand safety division; it doesn’t exist in any functional way," he said. "Yes, these kinds of things pop up all over the place, but other platforms have mechanisms and internal controls to respond to them,” he said. “Whereas X, on the other hand, not only doesn’t have those controls, but as evidenced by Elon Musk’s own conduct, the rot seems to go all the way to the top.”
By its own account, MMFA is not an impartial watchdog, stating its mission is to monitor, analyze, and correct “conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” This puts it in a similar category as pressure groups like CAMERA and HonestReporting, which also parse media coverage from the vantage point of a particular agenda.
Nonetheless, Musk reached straight for hyperbole on Monday by calling MMFA “pure evil.” He pledged to file not just any lawsuit but a “thermonuclear” one at that after the nonprofit’s report prompted an exodus of advertisers.
Notable departures included heavy hitters like Apple—one of the biggest customers of X—as well as other blue-chips such as Sony, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount. Tellingly, X CEO Linda Yaccarino couldn’t even stop her own previous employer, NBCUniversal, from pulling its spots despite her decade-plus ties to the Comcast subsidiary.
Inconsistent policies on free speech
This critical report, not the first from MMFA regarding X, proved so combustible precisely because Musk had sympathized just one day earlier with what many felt was a bigoted post accusing Jews of hating white people and perpetuating the Great Replacement theory, which alleges ethnic minorities are actively conspiring to marginalize America’s dominant white population.
Since this theory played a key role in the deadly mass shootings of Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue and Blacks in a Buffalo supermarket, even the White House felt it necessary to censure Musk for his ill-advised endorsement.
In a likely move designed to squash any further speculation that Musk may harbor latent anti-Semitic tendencies, the X owner declared on Friday the pro-Palestinian call for “decolonization” in connection with Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza to be tantamount to a call for genocide punishable with a ban.
“He’s not really a free-speech person. If he was, his position on this would have been a lot more consistent,” Carusone argued. “I think he was trying to insulate himself from criticism by doing something performative.”
This arbitrary tendency to make up policy on the fly is part of the reason why advertisers are rightly so skittish, per the MMFA chairman. When asked about Musk's unilateral ruling during Pride Month that calling anyone “cis” on X could be construed as a slur punishable with a suspension, Carusone agreed that it was no accident: "What I do know is that he’s engaged in malicious cruelty for no reason at all against people that clearly have a lot less power than him."
Carusone instead accuses Musk of intentionally draping his increasingly conservative worldview with high-minded principles, like a defense of the First Amendment, to avoid any consequences.
'Frivolous' lawsuit filed in a Musk-friendly jurisdiction
On Monday, Musk filed the lawsuit against MMFA in U.S. District Court in Texas, seeking unspecified damages and specifically demanding a trial by jury in the deeply red jurisdiction.
The legal strategy is somewhat unconventional, however. X operates out of San Francisco and is legally incorporated in Nevada, so one might expect the lawsuit to be filed in either of those two states.
Yet Musk sought out a state that coincidentally happens to be home to the headquarters of both Tesla and SpaceX, justifying the choice by arguing the campaign also affected companies and users located in the Republican-run Lone Star State, although that argument could apply to virtually any jurisdiction in the country.
On Monday, Musk also reposted a statement from Texas attorney general Ken Paxton saying his taxpayer-funded office would launch a criminal investigation into MMFA. Paxton himself is a controversial figure, impeached but not removed by the Texas legislature in September following 16 counts of bribery and corruption.
“At the same time that Elon Musk is calling himself a free-speech champion, he’s egging on state attorney generals to prosecute me. That is saying to the government you should punish someone for something you don’t like,” countered Carusone.
Neither Elon Musk nor X responded to a request from Fortune for comment.
The MMFA chairman vowed that his nonprofit would not in any way back down or be cowed by Musk’s legal threats, and would continue advocating for greater brand security irrespective of the civil lawsuit.
“He can scapegoat one research piece all he wants,” he said, “but fundamentally the problem is with him and X, not with us.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
List of Media, Tech Advertisers Quitting X Over Elon Musk's Antisemitic Comment
Nhari Djan
Tue, November 21, 2023
Major media and tech CEOs are taking a stance against Elon Musk after he endorsed an antisemitic post on X, formerly Twitter, and the platform placed some of their ads next to antisemitic content. The Walt Disney Company, Lionsgate and Warner Bros. Discovery are among companies that have suspended advertising on X after its owner’s latest antic.
Musk faced backlash from industry peers and investors about his comment, where he responded “you have said the actual truth” to a user’s post claiming Jewish communities are “pushing hatred” against white people. Dustin Moskovitz, a Facebook cofounder and the CEO of productivity software maker Asana, called for Musk to resign from all of his companies.
Major advertisers’ pullout could jeopardize X’s already struggling revenue streams. Musk has complained publicly about the company’s declining ad business since he bought it in October 2022. Many industry observers believe this is the main reason Musk in June brought on Linda Yaccarino, the former chief of global ad sales at NBCUniversal, to lead X.
In Musk’s grievances about advertising, he has blamed and filed suits against anti-hate groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Center for Countering Digital Hate for discouraging companies from advertising on X. Most recently, he threatened to sue Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog organization that monitors media companies for issues like misinformation, after it reported last week it found ads from companies like Apple (AAPL), Oracle, Xfinity and IBM alongside pro-Nazi content. Apple and IBM have halted ad spending on X.
Here is a running list of every major media and tech company that has paused ad spending on X:
The Walt Disney (DIS) Company
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)
Lionsgate
Apple
IBM
Comcast (CMCSA) (the parent company of NBCUniversal, Yaccarino’s former employer)
Paramount (PARA) Global
Sony Pictures
The Internet and Television Association
Ubisoft has suspended advertising on Elon Musk's X
It's the latest company to pull its ads following Media Matters' report showing ads next to antisemitic content.
Mariella Moon
·Contributing Reporter
Wed, November 22, 2023
Ubisoft is the latest company to join what seems to be a growing list of advertisers pulling their campaigns from Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter. The company has confirmed to PCGamer and Axios that it has paused advertising on the website, possibly making it the first video game publisher to do so. While Ubisoft didn't elaborate on its reasoning behind the decision, X's advertisers have been suspending their advertising activities on the social network after Musk supported an antisemitic tweet and Media Matters published a research showing brands' advertisements next to Nazi content.
IBM, Apple, Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros, Sony and Comcast have all paused their advertising on X. Lionsgate pulled its ads, as well, specifically citing Musk's tweet as the cause. Axios says Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Nexus VR ad campaign was still showing up for X users as recently as Monday morning, and it's unclear if it stopped advertising on the social network before or after Linda Yaccarino published a statement calling Media Matters' report "misleading and manipulated."
X's CEO issued a call for users and advertisers to "stand with X," claiming that "not a single authentic user on [the website] saw IBM's, Comcast's, or Oracle's ads next to the content in Media Matters’' article." Shortly after that, X officially filed a lawsuit against the media watchdog, accusing it of "knowingly and maliciously manufactur[ing] side-by-side images depicting advertisers' posts on X Corp.'s social media platform beside Neo-Nazi and white national fringe content."
In its complaint, X explained that Media Matters had to create the right conditions, which included following accounts that post fringe Neo-Nazi and white nationalist content, in order to see ads right next to antisemitic posts.
Media Matters called the lawsuit "frivolous" and an attempt to "bully X's critics into silence" in a statement sent to Engadget. The organization also told us that it "stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court."
Paris Hilton's media company joins brands pulling ads from X
Kate Gibson
Wed, November 22, 2023
Paris Hilton's entertainment company is suspending an advertising campaign on X, according to CNN, expanding the list of companies fleeing the social platform after billionaire Elon Musk's recent tweet endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
The move by 11:11 Media to distance itself from X, formerly known as Twitter, comes only a month after the companies announced an exclusive partnership that would include live video and commerce. X CEO Linda Yaccarino in October welcomed Hilton to the "@X family," tweeting: "The queen of pop culture, music, business and TV is #Sliving on X."
CBS MoneyWatch could not immediately reach anyone at Hilton's company for comment. Bruce Gersh, 11:11's president and chief operating officer, told CNN on Tuesday that the company "made the decision to immediately pull the campaign from the platform."
The advertiser exodus from X gathered steam last week after Musk, the company's billionaire owner, last week called an antisemitic post on his social media platform "the actual truth." Other major advertisers have suspended their marketing campaigns on the site in recent days, including Apple, Disney, IBM and Lionsgate, with some pointing to a report by Media Matters detailing a rise in antisemitism on X.
Apple, IBM and Oracle are among the companies that have had their ads appear next to Nazi-themed content on X, Media Matters said in its report. X has since filed a lawsuit against the liberal advocacy group, accusing Media Matters of misrepresenting its findings in an effort to destroy the company.
The White House denounced Musk for repeating "the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history," and President Biden then posted for the first time on X rival Threads.
The uproar is not the first at X, which had already lost advertisers concerned about their brands showing up on the platform next to controversial content. Musk hired Yaccarino, a former NBC executive, to sell big brands on the idea of returning to X.
According to research firm Similarweb, as of September global web traffic to Twitter.com was down 14% from a year ago, while traffic to the ads.twitter.com portal for advertisers was down 16.5%.
It's the latest company to pull its ads following Media Matters' report showing ads next to antisemitic content.
Mariella Moon
·Contributing Reporter
Wed, November 22, 2023
Ubisoft is the latest company to join what seems to be a growing list of advertisers pulling their campaigns from Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter. The company has confirmed to PCGamer and Axios that it has paused advertising on the website, possibly making it the first video game publisher to do so. While Ubisoft didn't elaborate on its reasoning behind the decision, X's advertisers have been suspending their advertising activities on the social network after Musk supported an antisemitic tweet and Media Matters published a research showing brands' advertisements next to Nazi content.
IBM, Apple, Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros, Sony and Comcast have all paused their advertising on X. Lionsgate pulled its ads, as well, specifically citing Musk's tweet as the cause. Axios says Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Nexus VR ad campaign was still showing up for X users as recently as Monday morning, and it's unclear if it stopped advertising on the social network before or after Linda Yaccarino published a statement calling Media Matters' report "misleading and manipulated."
X's CEO issued a call for users and advertisers to "stand with X," claiming that "not a single authentic user on [the website] saw IBM's, Comcast's, or Oracle's ads next to the content in Media Matters’' article." Shortly after that, X officially filed a lawsuit against the media watchdog, accusing it of "knowingly and maliciously manufactur[ing] side-by-side images depicting advertisers' posts on X Corp.'s social media platform beside Neo-Nazi and white national fringe content."
In its complaint, X explained that Media Matters had to create the right conditions, which included following accounts that post fringe Neo-Nazi and white nationalist content, in order to see ads right next to antisemitic posts.
Media Matters called the lawsuit "frivolous" and an attempt to "bully X's critics into silence" in a statement sent to Engadget. The organization also told us that it "stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court."
Paris Hilton's media company joins brands pulling ads from X
Kate Gibson
Wed, November 22, 2023
Paris Hilton's entertainment company is suspending an advertising campaign on X, according to CNN, expanding the list of companies fleeing the social platform after billionaire Elon Musk's recent tweet endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
The move by 11:11 Media to distance itself from X, formerly known as Twitter, comes only a month after the companies announced an exclusive partnership that would include live video and commerce. X CEO Linda Yaccarino in October welcomed Hilton to the "@X family," tweeting: "The queen of pop culture, music, business and TV is #Sliving on X."
CBS MoneyWatch could not immediately reach anyone at Hilton's company for comment. Bruce Gersh, 11:11's president and chief operating officer, told CNN on Tuesday that the company "made the decision to immediately pull the campaign from the platform."
The advertiser exodus from X gathered steam last week after Musk, the company's billionaire owner, last week called an antisemitic post on his social media platform "the actual truth." Other major advertisers have suspended their marketing campaigns on the site in recent days, including Apple, Disney, IBM and Lionsgate, with some pointing to a report by Media Matters detailing a rise in antisemitism on X.
Apple, IBM and Oracle are among the companies that have had their ads appear next to Nazi-themed content on X, Media Matters said in its report. X has since filed a lawsuit against the liberal advocacy group, accusing Media Matters of misrepresenting its findings in an effort to destroy the company.
The White House denounced Musk for repeating "the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history," and President Biden then posted for the first time on X rival Threads.
The uproar is not the first at X, which had already lost advertisers concerned about their brands showing up on the platform next to controversial content. Musk hired Yaccarino, a former NBC executive, to sell big brands on the idea of returning to X.
According to research firm Similarweb, as of September global web traffic to Twitter.com was down 14% from a year ago, while traffic to the ads.twitter.com portal for advertisers was down 16.5%.
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