A visibly angry Elon Musk unloaded on radical left-wing outfit Media Matters on Sunday, calling the media watchdog group an “evil propaganda machine.”
The owner of X, formerly Twitter, told a Townhall in the Spaces audience that he will vigorously target not only Media Matters but those who fund the group. Musk said as a general rule he is “against evil propaganda machines” and will sue them in every country in which they function.
The group issued a report in November alleging X placed advertising next to postings by “hate groups.” Their message prompted several major corporate advertisers, including Apple, Disney, IBM, and Paramount to cancel their ad campaigns.
🔥 Elon Musk: “Media Matters is an evil propaganda machine…We are suing them in every country that they operate. And we will pursue not just the organization, but anyone funding that organization. I want to be clear about that. Anyone funding that organization, we will pursue… pic.twitter.com/MCEVP65a7G
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) December 10, 2023
This misrepresentation cost X millions in revenue.
It was soon revealed that Media Matters sought out potentially offensive postings and refreshed the pages repeatedly until they were able to find an ad placed beside the message in question. Musk did not take this lying down.
The day after the report became public, the Tesla and SpaceX owner announced a “thermonuclear lawsuit.” He declared Media Matters “completely misrepresented the real user experience on X, another attempt to undermine free speech and mislead advertisers.”
Musk then issued a clear proclamation of principle. “Above everything, including profit, X works to protect the public’s right to free speech. But for speech to be truly free, we must also have the freedom to see or hear things that some people may consider objectionable.”
An X executive explained to Fox Business that the platform does not intentionally place advertising next to such content.
There are also no brands actively seeking to have their marketing located next to controversial postings. But that was the clear impression Media Matters intended to give.
The X executive further noted that ads follow the social media user. The leftist outfit’s “researchers” went looking for objectionable material and were able to find it.
That, of course, is easily done on every social media platform as well as nearly every facet of daily life. Only, in this case, it was perpetuated to destroy a company dedicated to the preservation of free speech.
