Elon Musk threatened to sue a nonprofit organization that researches misinformation on social media, alleging that it had lied about Twitter, which Musk recently renamed X, and hateful speech on the platform.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate released the July 20 letter they received from Musk’s lawyers on Monday. The letter claims that the center made false statements about Twitter in eight papers in the last year. These included a report alleging that Twitter had taken no action against the vast majority of Twitter Blue accounts that the center identified as “tweeting hate.”
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In the letter, the lawyers accused the center of making “a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm X generally, and its digital advertising business specifically.” They also allege that the center was funded by X competitors “in support of an ulterior agenda.”
“Elon Musk wants to silence his critics so he can continue to give a megaphone to hate and misinformation while avoiding the consequences,” CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed posted.
“Elon Musk wants to silence his critics so he can continue to give a megaphone to hate and misinformation while avoiding the consequences.” – CCDH CEO @Imi_Ahmed.
We stand by our research and won’t be intimidated by Musk’s threats.#MuskMeltdown pic.twitter.com/vsR9bxOced
— Center for Countering Digital Hate (@CCDHate) July 31, 2023
Musk’s lawyers have been busy issuing threats in the last two months. Musk sent a letter in June to Meta, alleging that it had copied trade secrets in the construction of Instagram Threads. It also sent a letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella alleging the improper use of X data.
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X is also facing legal pressure in the form of lawsuits. Former X employees filed a class action lawsuit against the business in mid-July, alleging that Musk’s promise to pay a specific severance package violated the company’s previous severance plan. X’s finance chief filed a similar suit in June, alleging the company did not pay “tens of millions of dollars” in promised bonus payments.
