Media Matters CEO calls Elon Musk lawsuit 'frivolous;' Ken Paxton investigating

Elon Musk is accusing Media Matters, a nonprofit, liberal media watchdog group, of manipulating information in a report it published to defame X, formerly Twitter. And the Texas attorney general's office is launching an investigation into Musk's claims.

Musk filed a lawsuit against Media Matters in a U.S. District Court in North Texas on Monday after the group's report pointed to white nationalist content on X appearing alongside ads from major advertisers like Amazon, NBC Universal and more.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that his office is investigating the matter for "fraudulent activity." But Media Matters' CEO Angelo Carusone has called Musk's lawsuit "frivolous."

Here's what we know:

Media Matters investigation pointed at 'White Lives Matter' and other hashtags on X

The Media Matters article, published Friday, had this headline: "X is placing ads for Amazon, NBA Mexico, NBCUniversal, and others next to content with white nationalist hashtags."

The article included screenshots showing memes and posts using hashtags for "White Lives Matter" and "White Pride World Wide" alongside high-profile advertisers.Since then, several prominent advertisers, such as Disney and IBM, have suspended their ads on X.

"IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation," an IBM spokesperson said.

X/Elon Musk lawsuit says Media Matters 'manufactured' images

Musk and X's lawsuit against Media Matters alleges that the screenshots were manufactured.

"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," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit contends that the framing of the article is not the typical user's experience. According to the suit, Media Matters did this in part by setting up their account to follow 30 users, therefore limiting the amount and types of content that would be featured on that account's feed.

"Media Matters chose to maliciously misrepresent the X experience with the intention of harming X and its business," the suit states.

The lawsuit is seeking damages, including for Media Matters to take down the story from its website and social media channels.

Ken Paxton investigating Media Matters; CEO calls lawsuit 'frivolous'

In his statement announcing the investigation on Media Matters, Paxton referred to the group as a "radical anti-free speech organization" three days after the organization published its story.

"We are examining the issue closely to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of the radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing freedom in the public square," Paxton said.

Carusone, Media Matters' CEO, on Monday defended the story and called Musk's suit "frivolous."

"This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence," Caruosone wrote in a post on X. "Media Matters stands behind its reporting and look forward to winning in court. Onward!"

Carusone told the Washington Post that as of Tuesday, Paxton’s office had not reached out to Media Matters.

What is Media Matters?

Launched nearly 20 years ago, Media Matters is a nonprofit media watchdog group by David Brock, a former conservative journalist who switched to begin work with liberal political organizations.

Media Matters says it monitors media across platforms that is "not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda."

This included what it dubbed its "War on Fox" between 2010 and 2013, a campaign that Media Matters declared victory by suggesting they had “effectively discredited (Fox’s) desire to be seen as "fair and balanced."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Media Matters CEO on Elon Musk lawsuit; Ken Paxton investigation