Media and Entertainment Media and Entertainment
Fri, May 23, 2025
[ Today @ 06:44 AM ] - Fortune
CD rates today, May 23, 2025

Exclusive-FTC probes Media Matters over Musk's X boycott claims, document shows


Published on 2025-05-23 04:44:03 - Reuters
  Print publication without navigation

  • (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has demanded documents from Media Matters about possible coordination with other media watchdogs accused by Elon Musk of helping orchestrate advertiser boycotts of X, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday. The civil investigative demand seen by Reuters seeks information about Matters' communications with other groups that evaluate misinformation and hate speech in social , including a World Federation of Advertisers initiative called Global Alliance for Responsible . The probe marks an escalation in U.S. government scrutiny of whether groups like Matters helped advertisers coordinate to pull ad dollars from X after Musk bought the social site formerly known as Twitter in 2022.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated an investigation into Media Matters for America, a left-leaning watchdog group, following a complaint by X Corp, owned by Elon Musk, alleging that Media Matters engaged in fraudulent business practices to suppress free speech on the platform X. The FTC's probe, confirmed by a source familiar with the matter, focuses on whether Media Matters violated consumer protection laws through its actions, which included creating accounts to manipulate the algorithms of X to show advertisements next to controversial content. This investigation comes amidst heightened tensions between X Corp and Media Matters, with X Corp accusing the group of attempting to drive away advertisers by misrepresenting the platform's content placement. The outcome of the FTC's investigation could have significant implications for the ongoing debate over free speech and content moderation on social media platforms.

Read the Full Reuters Article at:
[ https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-ftc-probes-media-matters-190352481.html ]