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X Files Lawsuit Against Media Matters in Order to Refute Claims That its Brand Safety Measures are Failing

As promised, Elon Musk’s X Corp has filed a new lawsuit against Media Matters, which accuses Media Matters, a non-profit misinformation research group, of fabricating evidence in order to suggest that X is displaying ads from big-name brands alongside harmful content, including posts from neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ accounts.
Media Matters has released several reports on this, many of which have included visual examples of ads from major brands displayed alongside harmful posts. These investigations have now led to a new boycott of X ads, with several major brands, including Disney, Apple, and more, announcing over the weekend that they’re putting a pause on their X campaigns in light of these findings.
In response, X has refuted the Media Matters report, with both owner Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino going on the offensive, accusing Media Matters of manipulating their findings through inorganic means, which have resulted in non-indicative results.
If you know me, you know I’m committed to truth and fairness. Here’s the truth. Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) November 20, 2023
As per X’s legal response:
“Media Matters knowingly and maliciously manufactured side-by-side images depicting advertisers’ posts on X Corp.’s social media platform beside Neo-Nazi and white-nationalist fringe content and then portrayed these manufactured images as if they were what typical X users experience on the platform.”
Which is not exactly what Media Matters has claimed in its reports, but it is the implication, that X users are potentially seeing ads from big-name brands alongside such posts.
X says that Media Matters has falsely triggered these ad impressions through inorganic means, which have corrupted its findings.
“Media Matters exclusively followed a small subset of users consisting entirely of accounts in one of two categories: those known to produce extreme, fringe content, and accounts owned by X’s big-name advertisers. The end result was a feed precision-designed by Media Matters for a single purpose: to produce side-by-side ad/content placements that it could screenshot in an effort to alienate advertisers. Media Matters then resorted to endlessly scrolling and refreshing its unrepresentative, hand-selected feed, generating between 13 and 15 times more advertisements per hour than viewed by the average X user, repeating this inauthentic activity until it finally received pages containing the result it wanted: controversial content next to X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts.”
I’m not entirely sure that X’s argument will hold up here, in that, in effect, it’s admitting that it is possible that ads could be shown next to this type of content, within certain parameters. Sure, X’s argument is that nobody’s actually going to use the platform in this way, which is why these results are invalid. But that’s an assumption that shouldn’t be needed, because X’s protective measures should stop such incidents from happening at all, ever, which, by X’s own admission, they have not.
Given this, I’m slightly surprised to see X push ahead with this, and file a lawsuit based on these grounds. Elon had promised that a “thermonuclear lawsuit” would be filed against Media Matters the moment the courts opened on Monday, which it had seemed that he’d re-thought and opted not to pursue. But evidently, his legal team was just gathering their brief, with the suit eventually registered later in the day.
At the same time, Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton has also opened his own investigation into Media Matters over potential fraudulent activity relating to its X reports.
Media Matters has already issued a statement in response to Musk’s initial threats, saying that:
“[Elon] Musk is a bully who threatens meritless lawsuits in an attempt to silence reporting that even he confirmed is accurate. If he does sue us, we will win.”
Based on the available evidence, I would suggest that it is correct, however, the very process of defending such in court will be costly, which clearly benefits the world’s richest man over a non-profit.
But it does appear to be moving to the next stage, which will see Media Matters forced to defend its findings, on several fronts. It’ll be interesting to see what the ultimate outcome is from such, while Musk has also promised that more lawsuits are coming, as he seeks to expose Media Matters and its supporters.
The next big question for X then is will advertisers now hold off on X ad spending till an official finding is handed down?
If that’s the case, that could have a big impact on X’s bottom line, and by enacting legal process, X may have forced its ad partners into a stalemate, as the optics of resuming their campaigns while an official outcome is pending could be less than ideal.
And X really can’t afford to lose more ad revenue, after already seeing a 60% decline in U.S. ad income year-over-year, due to Elon’s controversial changes at the app.
It’s also worth noting that many brands actually halted their X ad spend due to Musk’s own tacit support of a common anti-Semitic theory, via a post in the app, which he has since deleted. Musk has offered no apologies for this, and has instead sought to re-focus attention on Media Matters, whom he’s now presenting as an enemy of free speech.
But really, it’s Musk’s own commentary that’s causing just as much, if not more headaches for the company, while its ad systems, based on various third-party reports, from Media Matters and others, are seemingly failing to provide adequate brand safety.
The way forward, then, would be to acknowledge the potential of such, and to work with these groups to fix flaws in its systems.
But X has chosen a different path, which could drag out its losses, and expand the impacts.
SOCIAL
Elon Musk’s X and Amazon discuss potential collaboration

In a significant development in the social media industry, Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is reportedly engaging in preliminary discussions …
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SOCIAL
Threads Looks Set to be Made Available to European Users Next Week

Good news with EU social media fans, with Threads looking set for a December 14th launch in the region, just in time to capitalize on holiday engagement.
As reported by The Verge, EU Instagram users can now access a countdown timer at www.threads.net, which seemingly indicates the exact time for the upcoming EU launch. Meta hasn’t made any official announcement, but the countdown clock is only visible to European users, while EU users can also search ‘ticket’ in the Instagram app to find a digital invitation to Threads.
Which replicates the original Threads launch back in July, which included similar Easter eggs and indicators pointing to the launch date (like the above).
The EU launch of Threads has been delayed by evolving EU data privacy regulations, which, due to the timing of the implementation of these new rules, has put additional development burden on the Threads team to ensure compliance with the new parameters. Amid the initial Threads launch, Instagram (and Threads) chief Adam Mosseri said that it could take “many months” for Threads to reach EU users due to these additional complications.
But we have since seen indicators that Threads is coming.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta had an established plan to launch Threads to EU users in December, while app researchers have found various references to an upcoming “Threads EU Launch” in the app’s code.

Given the various strands of evidence, it does indeed seem likely that European users will get access to the app next week. And again, with social media usage increasing during the holiday break, that would also provide the best opportunity for Meta to capitalize on its opportunities.
Which are seemingly on the rise. As more people turn away from Elon Musk’s X project, largely due to Musk’s own divisive commentary, they’re seeking a real-time social alternative, and for many Threads is already filling that void.
That’s especially true for journalists, a common target of Musk’s attacks, who are now establishing new networks within the Threads ecosphere. And while live sports engagement remains high on X, Threads is also making a push to win over more sports communities, even placing ads courtside during the new NBA in-season tournament showcase in Las Vegas.

That’s seemingly prompting more sports fans to post in the app, which will expand again with the arrival of potentially millions more users in the EU region.
So how many more users can Threads expect to gain as a result of its European expansion?
Based on Meta’s EU disclosure data on active users, Instagram currently serves some 259 million monthly active users in Europe.
Instagram’s total, official user count is 1 billion MAU, while Threads now has over 100 million monthly users. So presumably, around a tenth of active IG users are also signing up to the app, which would mean that, at a rough estimate, we’re set to see around 25.9 million new Threads users incoming, if/when Threads is launched in the EU region.
Which is probably not as many as you might expect, but this is based on rough estimates, as Instagram reportedly has more than a billion actives now, and we don’t know the exact, current user counts of either app.
But either way, it will expand the conversation in the app, and enable more people to take part, which has its own expanded benefits. And with around 60 million X users also in the region, that could see a number of them looking to make the switch.
Which is the real aim here. Meta has created Threads as the X alternative, aiming to scoop up former Twitter cast-offs who are unhappy with Elon’s changes at the app. In order to do that, Threads needs to be available in all regions where X users may be looking to jump ship, so its EU expansion is another critical step in this respect.
It’ll be interesting to see what Threads user numbers rise to over the holiday period, and whether it can indeed become a genuine rival for X in total active engagement.
We’ll keep you updated on any official announcement on the Threads EU launch.
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