Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: Media Matters is suing the FTC to block investigation into X
advertiser boycott

Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2025 20:45:15 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/social-media/media-m...

Media Matters for America has sued the US Federal Trade Commission, claiming
that the agency is unfairly targeting it in retaliation for past criticisms
of the social media platform X in violation of the organization's First
Amendment rights. It's the latest move in the ongoing hostilities between the
nonprofit media watchdog and X owner Elon Musk.

"The Federal Trade Commission seeks to punish Media Matters for its
journalism and speech in exposing matters of substantial public
concernΓÇöincluding how X.com has enabled and profited from extremist content
that proliferated after Elon Musk took over the platform formerly known as
Twitter," the complaint from the watchdog states. "The campaign of
retribution against Media Matters must stop."

This back-and-forth legal battle began in 2023 when Media Matters published a
report finding that X ran advertisements next to antisemitic posts, which led
to many prominent companies withdrawing their ads from the social media
network. After Musk threatened to file a "thermonuclear lawsuit" in response,
X sued Media Matters later that year, claiming the organization was
attempting to push advertisers into boycotting its service. CEO Linda
Yaccarino called the report "misleading and manipulative" in a note to X
employees, while a representative from Media Matters told Engadget: "This is
a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X's critics into silence. Media Matters
stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court."

Last month, while Musk was still closely tied to President Donald Trump's
administration and working with the so-called Department of Government
Efficiency, the FTC launched its own investigation into Media Matters to
determine whether the group illegally colluded with advertisers. The FTC is
now comprised of only three Republican commissioners following Trump's
dismissal of two Democratic commissioners, which those former civil servants
said was an illegal action by the president since their terms cannot be ended
early without "good cause." Considering that earlier today, the FTC allowed a
$13.5 billion acquisition within the advertising agency on the condition that
purchaser Omnicom cannot engage "in collusion or coordination to direct
advertising away from media publishers based on the publishersΓÇÖ political
or ideological viewpoints," it seems unlikely that the regulator will be
receptive to Media Matters' case.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/social-media/media-m...
investigation-into-x-advertiser-boycott-204514805.html?src=rss

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