NEW ORLEANS—The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today filed an amicus brief in support of Media Matters for America in a lawsuit brought against the nonprofit research organization by X Corp. The social media company sued Media Matters after it published an article reporting that ads on X had appeared next to pro-Nazi content. As part of the lawsuit, X Corp. sought—and obtained—a court order requiring Media Matters to turn over the names and addresses of every Media Matters donor.
“This lawsuit appears to be an effort by Elon Musk and his X Corp. to punish Media Matters for publishing speech critical of the platform,” said Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute.“X Corp.’s litigation tactics raise First Amendment concerns because they send a chilling message to Media Matters and its donors and to anyone who would criticize X. Before ordering Media Matters to disclose its list of donors, the court should have confirmed that the list truly is relevant to the case, which it does not appear to be.”
Media Matters is a non-profit research organization that monitors and reports on what it calls “conservative misinformation” in the U.S. media, including X Corp. and other social media platforms. Its research and reporting have been cited by government agencies, congressional committees, politicians from both parties, researchers, and academics.
Today’s amicus brief argues that requiring Media Matters to disclose its complete list of donors and their addresses raises First Amendment concerns, and asks the court to reverse a district court ruling compelling Media Matters to do so. It argues that enforcement of X Corp.’s request may chill donors from continuing to associate with Media Matters by subjecting them to harassment and intimidation.
Read today’s amicus brief here.
Read more about the case here.
Lawyers on the case include Scott Wilkens, Alex Abdo, and Talya Nevins from the Knight Institute.
For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, [email protected]