A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit leveled by Elon Musk’s X against the Center for Countering Digital Hate over its critical coverage of the alleged rise of content deemed hateful on the social-media platform.
“Sometimes it is unclear what is driving a litigation,” District Judge Charles Breyer wrote in the order. “Other times, a complaint is so unabashedly and vociferously about one thing that there can be no mistaking that purpose. This case represents the latter circumstance. This case is about punishing the Defendants for their speech.”
The judge argued that the lawsuit unfairly targeted the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate following its reports on the rise in allegedly racist, antisemitic, and extremist material on X since Musk’s acquisition. The lawsuit had accused the organization of violating the company’s terms of service when it documented these incidents. X said the reports were misleading and were fueling negative attention that was costing the company significant advertising revenue, specifically tens of millions of dollars, according to the damages outlined in the lawsuit.
“Today a federal court in San Francisco issued a decision in the case X brought against the Center for Countering Digital Hate for illegally obtaining platform data to create misleading research,” X wrote in a statement. “X disagrees with the court’s decision and plans to appeal.”
Other progressive advocacy groups have attempted to expose X for harboring what they deem hateful content. Large advertisers including Apple, Warner Bros., Discovery, Sony, and others ceased advertising on X after left-leaning nonprofit Media Matters said it had found ads alongside white nationalist and pro-Nazi tweets. Media Matters also claimed that the billionaire endorsed an antisemitic post amid the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.
In expletive-filled remarks, Musk then called out these corporate brands for pulling advertising. When asked by Andrew Sorkin at the New York Times DealBook Summit to clarify why he doesn’t want the boycotting companies to advertise on X in the future, Musk said he considers their boycotts to be “blackmail.”
“If somebody’s gonna try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f**k yourself.” Sorkin interjected, “But…?” Musk replied, “Go! F**k! Yourself! Is that clear? I hope it is,” the tech titan said.
Musk added, “Hey Bob,” referring to Disney CEO Bob Iger, whose multibillion-dollar company was one of many to leave the platform.
Shortly after the Media Matters article led to a mass boycott, Musk filed a lawsuit against the left-wing outlet for intentionally “harming X and its business” with advertisers. On the same day that the litigation was filed, Republican Texas attorney general Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Media Matters for “potential fraudulent activity” over the same issue.
In a similar manner, Musk tweeted last week that the “CCDH is a truly evil organization that just wants to destroy the First Amendment under the guise of doing good!”