Twitter / X confirms Nazi content was shown alongside Apple ads. So why is it suing?

Twitter / X is suing over a Media Matters report that it displayed posts from major advertisers like Apple next to Nazi content.

Twitter / X is suing media watchdog group Media Matters over its Nov. 16 report that the social media platform was displaying major companies' ads alongside Nazi content. The report came just one day after Twitter / X owner Elon Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy, prompting huge advertisers such as Apple and Disney to flee.

Filed in Texas on Monday, Twitter / X's lawsuit accuses Media Matters of "manufacturing" the screenshots in its report that show advertisers' posts alongside white nationalist content. According to Twitter / X, this was done as a deliberate, malicious attack to "drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp."

"The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company," Musk posted on Twitter / X over the weekend.

Unfortunately for Musk, the "thermonuclear" nature of its lawsuit is highly debatable.

What is the Twitter / X vs Media Matter lawsuit about?

Twitter / X doesn't claim that the screenshots in Media Matters' recent report were fake or created via image editing software. In fact, it validates them as real, confirming that Media Matters did indeed see Apple, Bravo, Oracle, Xfinity, and IBM advertisements next to posts celebrating Nazism on Twitter / X. 

Instead, the lawsuit alleges that Media Matters was able to see advertisers' content next to Nazi content by using profiles which had been active for over 30 days, "bypassing X's ad filter for new users," and only following accounts from either prominent advertisers or "those known to produce extreme fringe content." The social media platform also claimed that Media Matters excessively scrolled and refreshed its feed, resulting in it viewing more ads per hour than most users.

Twitter / X is seeking damages as well as the removal of Media Matters' report, which will no doubt prompt many more people to read it.

Not quite 'thermonuclear'

The lawsuit attempts to characterise Media Matter's use of Twitter / X as a manipulation of the platform's algorithm, and claims that its results were "inorganic" and "rare." However, this doesn't negate the fact that advertisers and Nazi content were shown side by side. It also isn't impossible that an established user might follow both white supremacist and big brand accounts.

Other Twitter / X users have since reported being served ads when searching for anti-Semitic phrases, including posts from the German government, an Israeli oil and gas company, New Jersey Tourism, and The Athletic.

Interestingly, Twitter / X's claim that Media Matters followed accounts "known to produce extreme fringe content" further indicates that the platform has allowed such profiles to continue posting white supremacist content long enough to gain notoriety. As of writing, half of the accounts Media Matters screenshotted posting Nazi content still remain active.

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Amidst all this, Twitter / X CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed that the platform did show big advertisers' posts next to white supremacist content, but attempted to play it down by stating that nearly nobody saw it.

"Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article," Yaccarino posted on Monday. "Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters."

Even so, the objections are likely less about how many people saw it, and more about it being a possibility in the first place.

Twitter / X is searching for a scapegoat

Combined with Musk's recent comments supporting a conspiracy theory that Jewish people are pushing hatred against white people, it isn't hard to see why advertisers such as IBM, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount Global are suspending their ads on Twitter / X. 

"This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence," Media Matters' president Angelo Carusone wrote on Twitter / X. "Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court."

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This isn't the first time brands halted their advertising on Twitter / X due to Nazi content. In August, pharmaceutical giant Gilead and NCTA — The Internet & Television Association both stopped advertising on Twitter / X after a previous Media Matters report found ads displayed on white supremacist content. Alongside Gilead, the report specifically named several other companies such as Adobe, Amazon, Fortune, MLB, Samsung, and Sports Illustrated.

However, it seems the loss of giants like Apple and Disney has been enough for Twitter / X to try making Media Matters a scapegoat — and hope the courts simply overlook its advertiser-unfriendly policies and Musk's own statements.