Media Matters for America is suing Texas attorney general Ken Paxton for opening what it claims is a “retaliatory” investigation in defense of Elon Musk’s X platform.
Media Matters, a left-wing media watchdog, claimed in a series of reports last month that Musk’s social-media platform ran corporate advertising alongside white nationalist and antisemitic content. Many companies, including Disney and Apple, pulled ad money to boycott X due to the published allegations, not wanting their brands to be associated with controversy.
In response, Musk decided to sue Media Matters on November 20 for harming X’s business model and pushing numerous advertisers to leave the platform. Musk’s “thermonuclear” lawsuit, as the billionaire described it, came on the same day that Paxton launched a probe into Media Matters after Musk raised concerns of “potential fraudulent activity.”
The Media Matters lawsuit, filed in a Maryland federal court on Monday, alleges Paxton violated the First Amendment by preventing the news organization from publishing any more reports on X and Musk while the investigation is ongoing. “The chill imposed by his retaliatory scheme injures Plaintiffs’ ability to investigate and publish news stories and further chills their ability to participate in a robust public discussion around political extremism on the X platform,” the court document states.
According to the lawsuit, Paxton sent a letter to the company on November 21 demanding several documents concerning its reporting on Musk and X be handed over. As part of the demand, Media Matters employees have cut back on reporting and publishing on the topic for now. “These reporters and researchers are also aware that Media Matters’s editorial team has been required to hold back stories about X and Musk due to these concerns,” the lawsuit reads.
The plaintiffs are ultimately imploring a federal judge to block the probe permanently, considering Paxton doesn’t have jurisdiction outside of Texas. “That Plaintiffs may be dragged to court in an unknown, unfamiliar, and untouched venue in Texas at the option of Attorney General Paxton further chills their speech,” the lawsuit states.
Eric Hananoki, the reporter who wrote the articles in question, is based in Maryland, where reporter “shield” laws protect journalists from disclosing sources or confidential information in court. The filed suit also argues Paxton violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s due-process rights.
Also on Monday, Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey formally opened a pending investigation into the media outlet over allegedly fraudulent solicitation of donations from Missourians. It’s possible Media Matters could sue Bailey for his investigation, which remains separate from Paxton’s.