About a week ago, Elon Musk sued the group Media Matters, saying it published a report that lied about the likelihood of ads on X appearing next to pro-Nazi content.
CNN was delighted to report that legal experts saw the lawsuit as “weak,” “bogus,” and an assault against the First Amendment, which they apparently support now. Musk says multiple corporations like Apple and Disney pulled their ads after the report.
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Media Matters for “potential fraudulent activity.” Paxton’s office says he is investigating whether Media Matters manipulated data to arrive at their conclusions.
Musk said Media Matters manipulated photos to show advertisers’ posts next to “Neo-Nazi and white-nationalist fringe content.” He also says Media Matters workers made fake accounts, followed certain users – all large brands and extremist accounts – and continuously refreshed feeds to artificially generate “between 13 and 15 times more advertisements per hour than viewed by the average X user” until they got major brand ads to appear next to extremist posts. In other words, employees tricked the algorithm.
Missouri’s Attorney General says he’s also looking into the matter.
When I was at Fox, I was once tasked to combat Media Matters, an organization that was founded to bring down Fox News. It’ll make a great story someday.
Conor McGregor investigated after criticizing law enforcement
Riots in Ireland broke out four days ago after a man stabbed five people, including three children. Rioters believed the attacker was an immigrant – something police wouldn’t confirm – who news reports now say is from Algeria.
Irish MMA icon Conor McGregor took a shot at Ireland’s leadership and its immigration policies, saying a "change" was necessary.
"Innocent children ruthlessly stabbed by a mentally deranged non-national in Dublin, Ireland today," McGregor tweeted in response to a police commissioner condemning the violence as "disgraceful" and supported by a "hooligan faction driven by far right ideology."
"Drew, not good enough. There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place, and there has been zero action done to support the public in any way, shape or form with this frightening fact," McGregor tweeted. "NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Make change or make way. Ireland for the victory. God bless those attacked today, we pray."
For that, McGregor is now under a police investigation as part of a probe into online hate speech.
My new conspiracy theory
I’m starting my own conspiracy theory": The sketch artist in Donald Trump’s New York trial hates Ivanka Trump.
Exhibit A …
It’s strange that Media Matters’ founder David Brock was once the zeitgeist of the conservative movement some thirty years ago.
Brock had authored “The Real Anita Hill” in the early 1990s and took Hill to the proverbial woodshed while also resurrecting and defending Justice Clarence Thomas.
I still have that book in my collection … I remember getting the copy as part of some promotion/subscription I signed up for that was advertised on the Rush Limbaugh Show.
See: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/190530.Real_Anita_Hill
Need a combined assult on Media Matters by AGs etc to shut down Media Matters organz
Chap 7 the organz
Name names