The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has demanded documents from Media Matters, a liberal advocacy group, regarding possible coordination with other organisations accused by Elon Musk of orchestrating advertiser boycotts of X, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The civil investigative demand seeks information about Media Matters' communications with groups that evaluate misinformation and hate speech, including the World Federation of Advertisers' Global Alliance for Responsible Media. X has ongoing lawsuits against both organisations.
The inquiry marks an escalation in US government scrutiny of whether Media Matters helped advertisers coordinate to pull ad dollars from X after Musk bought the social media site, formerly Twitter, in 2022. FTC chair Andrew Ferguson, appointed by Donald Trump, highlighted the potential for investigation in December, stating the need to prosecute unlawful collusion and confront advertiser boycotts threatening competition.
The US House judiciary committee, chaired by Republican Jim Jordan, accused the Global Alliance for Responsible Media last year of coordinating an illegal group boycott. The initiative was shut down in August. An investigative demand is not proof of wrongdoing, and not all investigations result in enforcement action.
X sued Media Matters in 2023, accusing it of defamation over an article claiming ads for major brands appeared next to far-right extremist content. Media Matters denied the allegations and countersued, accusing X of abusive lawsuits to punish reporting. Advertising spending on X is set to increase in 2025 for the first time since Musk's purchase, but remains below pre-Musk levels.
