Elon Musk’s X wins round in court as judge allows reputation damage lawsuit to proceed

Last year, X filed a lawsuit against Media Matters for America (MMFA), claiming that MMFA should be held accountable for negative reporting that led companies to withdraw their ads from X. In early March, Media Matters requested to have the case dismissed, arguing that X's lawsuit lacked “personal jurisdiction,” was in an “improper venue,” and failed to “state a claim.” Now, there is a new development in this story.

Judge rejects Media Matters' attempt to dismiss X's non-libel lawsuit

A federal judge in Texas has decided not to dismiss a lawsuit from Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, against watchdog Media Matters. X alleges that Media Matters hurt its reputation by claiming that ads for major brands were placed next to extremist content.

US District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth stated that X can move forward with federal claims, arguing that Media Matters “knowingly and maliciously fabricated side-by-side images” showing major advertisers next to neo-Nazi content, which reportedly led some companies to stop or cut back on their ads.

O'Connor rejected Media Matters' attempts to get the case thrown out, including the claim that it couldn’t be liable for business disparagement because it was reporting true statements. He pointed out that X had made a strong enough case that Media Matters acted with “actual malice” in its criticisms of the platform.