(Jakub Purzycki/Noor Photo via Getty Images)
Exclusive-Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is opening an investigation into Media Matters for “possible fraudulent activity” after X CEO Elon Musk accused the left-wing media watchdog group of manipulating data on the social media platform.
After a slew of advertisers, including IBM, Apple, Disney, Lionsgate and Paramount, fled Company X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk vowed to strike the watchdog group with a “thermonuclear lawsuit.”
Media Matters published a report on Friday accusing X of placing ads next to “white nationalist hashtags.” However, Musk believes the group “completely misrepresented the real user experience” in order to mislead advertisers.
Musk threatens “thermonuclear lawsuit” against the media
Missouri’s Republican Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, posted on Sunday that his legal team was “looking into” the matter. Now, Paxton is launching a formal investigation into his office after feeling “deeply disturbed” by the allegations.
FILE – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton delivers a statement in his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin, Texas. The Texas Senate is scheduled to convene on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, for the impeachment trial of state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a formal airing of corruption allegations that could prompt Republican lawmakers to oust one of their own as lead attorney for America’s largest corporation. Red status. ((AP Photo/Eric Jay, File)
“We are studying the issue closely to ensure that the public is not deceived by the schemes of far-left organizations that would like nothing more than to limit freedom by limiting participation in the public square,” Paxton said.
“Under the Texas Business Organizations Act and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Attorney General’s Office will aggressively enforce against nonprofit organizations that commit fraudulent acts in or influence the State of Texas,” the Texas Attorney General’s Office said.
Musk responds to accusations of anti-Semitism: “Nothing could be further from the truth”
Elon Musk, billionaire Tesla CEO, at the Viva Tech show in Paris, France, on Friday, June 16, 2023. (Nathan Lin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Last week, Musk found himself in hot water after commenting on an X post that critics believe was anti-Semitic. The tech billionaire has since clarified that anyone posting content related to genocide will be suspended from X.
“At the risk of stating the obvious, anyone advocating the genocide of any group will be suspended from this platform,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
“As I said earlier this week, ‘decolonization’, ‘from river to sea’ and similar euphemisms necessarily imply genocide. Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in service suspension,” Musk wrote.
However, White House spokesman Andrew Bates condemned Musk, saying the House condemns “the hateful promotion of racist and anti-Semitic hatred in the strongest terms, which runs counter to our core values as Americans.”
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This is not the first time advertisers have evacuated the social media platform. Last year, when Musk first took over Twitter, now known as X, he promised to restore freedom of expression to the platform. In response, hundreds of advertisers pulled their ads.
Now, the CEO is hoping to uncover the truth behind the Media Matters report, saying: “The discovery and the testimony will be great.”
Media Matters did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
