Media Matters accuses Musk’s X of ‘abusive’ tactics in new lawsuit

By Mike Scarcella

March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. media watchdog group Media Matters sued Elon Musk’s X on Monday, accusing it of bringing "abusive," costly and meritless lawsuits to punish Media Matters for its reporting on advertising on X after Musk bought the social media platform.

Media Matters' lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco asked a judge to block two cases that X filed in Ireland and Singapore against the watchdog.

The lawsuit also asked the court to declare that California is the appropriate venue for disputes involving X and its terms of service. X is currently also suing Media Matters in a federal court in Texas.

"X initiated a vendetta-driven campaign of libel tourism, spanning three jurisdictions in three countries, all arising from the same conduct: Media Matters’ use of X’s platform in accordance with X’s Terms of Service and its truthful reporting on the results," the complaint said.

Spokespeople for X and Media Matters did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

X in its lawsuits accused Media Matters of fabricating images and defaming the social media platform in a report that said ads for major brands had appeared next to far-right extremist content, driving some companies to stop or pause their spending on the site.

Media Matters has denied the allegations and defended its reporting. It said it has spent millions of dollars defending itself from X's claims.

A judge in August declined to dismiss the case X brought against Media Matters in Texas. Media Matters had argued the case should be dismissed because the organization is not based in Texas and its reporting and publishing activity did not take place there.

Last year, X updated its terms of service to steer any disputes by users of the social media platform to the federal court in the Northern District of Texas, where conservative litigants in political cases have often won favorable rulings.

Musk bought X, then known as Twitter, in 2022 for $44 billion. The company has moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Bastrop, Texas, near Austin, whose federal court is in Texas' Western District.

The case is Media Matters for America et al v. X Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 3:25-cv-02397.

For plaintiff: Katherine Peaslee, Amanda Bonn and Justin Nelson of Susman Godfrey; and Amer Ahmed of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

For defendant: No appearance yet

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