Elon Musk’s social media platform X has sued a left-leaning pressure group that accused the site of allowing antisemitic posts next to advertising.
X’s lawsuit alleges that Media Matters for America “manipulated” data in an attempt to “destroy” the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Firms including Apple, Disney, IBM and Comcast have paused adverts on X since the watchdog released its analysis.
After Mr Musk threatened the lawsuit, Media Matters called him a bully.
The advocacy group said last week that ads had appeared on X alongside posts supporting Nazism, such as Hitler quotes and Holocaust denial.
Separately, Mr Musk himself last week was accused of amplifying an antisemitic trope on the platform.
The lawsuit, filed in Texas on Monday, argues: “Media Matters knowingly and maliciously manufactured side-by-side images depicting advertisers’ posts on X Corp’s social media platform beside Neo-Nazi and white-nationalist fringe content and then portrayed these manufactured images as if they were what typical X users experience on the platform.
“Media Matters designed both these images and its resulting media strategy to drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp.”
X said in the lawsuit that ads for Comcast, Oracle and IBM had only appeared alongside hateful content for Media Matters, and no other viewer.
Linda Yaccarino, chief executive of X, posted on Monday: “Here’s the truth. Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article.”
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