Elon Musk Says X Will File “Thermonuclear Lawsuit” Against Watchdog Media Matters

X CEO Elon Musk announced the company will file a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America.

The Details: On Friday, Media Matters, published a report that said the social media company placed ads for major brands alongside “white nationalist” and pro-Nazi content. The report accused Musk of spreading an “antisemitic conspiracy theory” and allowing “hateful rhetoric” to flourish. Per Media Matters, Disney, Apple, NBC, Comcast, Paramount, IBM, and the European Union are halting advertising on X because of its reporting.

For Context: This week, Musk was widely accused of being antisemitic, including by the Biden administration, for an exchange he had with X user @breakingbaht, who said Western “Jewish communties [sic] have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.”

Key Quotes: X said Media Matters “completely misrepresented the real user experience” in an attempt to “mislead advertisers.” Media Matters president, Angelo Carusone, 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.”

How The Media Covered It: National Review (Lean Right bias) and The Hill (Center bias) referred to Media Matters as a “liberal media watchdog.” National Review provided significant context on Musk’s exchange on X. The Hill called @breakingbaht’s post “antisemitic” and said Musk “open [sic] the door for more hateful content” by loosening X’s content restrictions since becoming CEO.