Media Matters sues Texas attorney general over response to Elon Musk dispute

Media Matters for America sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court late Monday, alleging that Paxton violated the First Amendment last month and chilled its work when he opened an investigation into the organization over its reporting into Elon Musk’s X app.

Media Matters, a progressive watchdog group, said Paxton’s investigation was unlawful retaliation designed to punish it for stories it reported that alleged that major ad campaigns were running next to white nationalist content on X.

The stories contributed to trouble for Musk and X and seemingly helped inspire a massive wave of pullouts by advertisers from the social media platform, including Apple and Disney.

Paxton, a Republican, announced Nov. 20 that he was opening an investigation into Media Matters “for potential fraudulent activity” related to its investigation of X. Musk at the time applauded the probe, saying on X, “Fraud has both civil & criminal penalties.”

Paxton’s announcement coincided with X’s suing Media Matters, claiming it unlawfully interfered with X’s relationships with advertisers.