Elon Musk vows "thermonuclear lawsuit" against media watchdog after top companies stop ads on X platform

Elon Musk. File Photo

X platform owner and billionaire American businessman Elon Musk has vowed to file a "thermonuclear lawsuit" against the media watchdog 'Media Matters' alleging that it "completely misrepresented the real user experience" and "undermined free speech".

Media Matters in a recent report said that corporate advertisements from IBM, Apple, Oracle, and Comcast's Xfinity were reportedly shown on X alongside antisemitic content, Daily Mail reported. It claimed that the content praised the Nazis and Adolf Hitler.

Following the report, a number of well-known American media and technology companies, including Disney, Warner Brothers, and Paramount, made the decision to stop advertisements on the platform in response to the report.

"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," Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter). Their board, their donors, their network of dark money, all of them...," he added.

The Tesla CEO said that X platform works to "protect the right to free speech" and for that one must "see or hear" things that are considered "objectionable" and one must make up their own minds about "what to read, watch, or listen to".

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He further accused Media Matters and other media outlets of "undermining" freedom of expression as they perceive it as a threat to their "ideological narrative".

"X will protect the public's right to free expression. We will not allow agenda-driven activists, or even our own profits, to deter our vision. Everyone has a choice on X. User and brand control on X is superior to a year ago. Data wins over allegations. Media Matters does not reflect the user experience on X," Musk stated.

Earlier, Musk agreed with a post that claimed that Jewish people who are facing antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war are pushing the "exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them" and supporting the immigration of "hordes of minorities." To this post, Musk responded, "You have said the actual truth."

Musk's remarks were also condemned by the White House for boosting the anti-Jewish conspiracy theory, calling it "unacceptable," The New York Times reported.

In a statement, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said that it was "unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust." (With inputs from agencies)