Federal Judge Refuses to Dismiss Elon Musk's Defamation Suit Against Leftist Group
A federal judge declined Thursday to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against Media Matters by Elon Musk’s X.
District Court Judge Reed O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in an order that Musk’s X had “properly pled its claim,” rejecting Media Matter’s effort to have the case tossed. The platform filed its lawsuit in November, alleging that the left-wing watchdog group “knowingly and maliciously manufactured side-by-side images depicting advertisers’ posts” beside content made by white nationalists and neo-Nazis.
The Media Matters report prompted advertisers like Apple, Disney and IBM to pull ads from the platform.
X is seeking an injunction requiring Media Matters to remove the article as well as damages caused by its conduct. The company alleged Media Matters actions were “driving away X’s advertisers and revenue precisely as intended.”
“Nothing in Media Matters’ campaign was coincidental or accidental,” the lawsuit alleges.
Media Matters president Angelo Carusone called the lawsuit “frivolous” when it was filed in November.
“This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence,” Carusone said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
The trial is set to begin on April 7, 2025.
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