On November 28, 2023, Elon Musk’s X Corp. made headlines as it initiated legal proceedings against Media Matters for America, a left-leaning nonprofit organization.

The lawsuit was filed in Fort Worth, Texas, alleges defamation and follows Media Matters release of a report that advertisements displayed alongside extremist content on X. According to the complaint, X Corp. Accuses Media Matters of intentionally manipulating algorithms on the X platform, creating misleading depictions of advertisers paid posts placed with racist and anti-semitic content.

This alleged manipulation distorted the actual likelihood of ads appearing alongside extremist content on the platform, causing reputational harm. The legal action, officially designated as X Corp. v. Media Matters for America and recorded under case number 23-cv-1175 in the US District Court, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth, marks a significant move in the ongoing discourse about content moderation on social media platforms.

This event is significant in a larger sense because it reflects the growing tendency of people and businesses to use the legal system to deal with defamation issues, especially in the context of internet platforms and media monitors.