Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced that his office has launched an investigation into the George Soros-funded leftist propaganda website Media Matters.
The move comes after Twitter/X boss Elon Musk filed what he called a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against the organization.
Musk is suing Media Matters after it emerged that the organization sought to pressure advertisers to abandon the X platform.
Media Matters told X’s advertisers that their ads would appear next to “white nationalist hashtags.”
The anti-free speech organization used its own false reporting as “evidence” to pressure advertisers.
Musk vehemently denied the report from Media Matters, however.
He accused the organization of fabricating its report in an effort to completely misrepresent the “real user experience” on the platform to deceive advertisers.
The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company pic.twitter.com/55vl7PspaQ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2023
Several companies responded to the Mecia Matters report, and subsequent pressure campaign, by announcing that they would end their advertising on the platform.
Those companies include IBM, Apple, Disney, Lionsgate, and Paramount.
If you know me, you know I'm committed to truth and fairness. Here's the truth. Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) November 20, 2023
On Monday, Musk filed his lawsuit, and Paxton announced his investigation very soon afterward.
Paxton issued a statement on social media, saying:
“Today I opened an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity after X CEO Elon Musk accused the left-wing media watchdog group of manipulating data on the social media platform.
“We are examining the issue closely to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square,” he added
🚨 Today I opened an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity after X CEO Elon Musk accused the left-wing media watchdog group of manipulating data on the social media platform. https://t.co/oL1UPNXzeo
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 21, 2023
JUST IN – Texas Attorney General opens an investigation into Media Matters "for potential fraudulent activity." pic.twitter.com/Wh49clyfej
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) November 21, 2023
Media Matters previously released a statement about the threat of litigation from Musk.
Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, said:
“Far from the free speech advocate he claims to be, Musk is a bully who threatens meritless lawsuits in an attempt to silence reporting that he even 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.”
On Sunday, Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey also said that his legal team was looking into the accusations against Media Matters.
Meanwhile, Musk appears eager to battle with the anti-American organization.
“The discovery and depositions will be glorious to behold,” he declared.
