Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 5/22/25

Headline:  “Muzzling Media Matters”

Subhead:  “What began as Elon Musk’s personal vendetta against Media Matters has now escalated into a full-blown government-backed campaign, with Donald Trump’s FTC launching a probe into the non-profit group”.

On Wednesday morning, an IT staffer at Media Matters for America received a letter, hand-delivered by a process server. The staffer didn’t panic. These days, being served legal documents has become an almost routine occurrence at the progressive watchdog group, a direct consequence of the litigation unleashed by Elon Musk and other prominent right-wing figures. . .”

“That casual demeanor didn’t last. The moment the executive began to read the document, her tone shifted dramatically. It was not merely another legal missive; it was an official demand letter from the Federal Trade Commission. The federal government, it appeared, was initiating a formal probe into Media Matters. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/ftc-investigates-media-matters-elon-musk

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Article in The Guardian by Staff, 5/22/25

Headline:  “FTC investigates media watchdog over Musk’s X boycott claims, document shows”

Subhead:  “Media Matters faces government inquiry into whether it helped advertisers coordinate to pull ad dollars from X”

“The US Federal Trade Commission has demanded documents from Media Matters about possible coordination with other media watchdogs accused by Elon Musk of helping orchestrate advertiser boycotts of X, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday.

“The civil investigative demand seen by Reuters seeks information about Media Matters’ communications with other groups that evaluate misinformation and hate speech in news and social media, including a World Federation of Advertisers initiative called Global Alliance for Responsible Media. X has ongoing lawsuits against both organizations. . .”

“Last year, X sued the World Federation of Advertisers and a group of major brands in federal court in Texas, accusing them of illegally conspiring to curtail ad spending. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/22/ftc-media-matters-x-investigation